Quality Management Plan for the 

National Air Toxics Trends Station 

Monitoring Program 

 
 

EPA 454/R-02-006 

December 2002 

Quality Management Plan for the National Air Toxics Trends Station Monitoring Program 

By 

Dennis K. Mikel 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Emission, Monitoring and Analysis Division 

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Emission, Monitoring and Analysis Division 

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711
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Forward 

This QMP was generated using the EPA Quality Assurance (QA) regulations and guidance as described in 

EPA QA/R-2, EPA Requirements for Quality Management Plans and the accompanying document, EPA 

QA/G-2, Guidance for Developing, Reviewing and Implementing Quality Management Plans. All pertinent 

elements of the QMP regulations and guidance are addressed in this plan. 

 

 

 

 
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Acknowledgments

This QMP is the product of the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. The following 

individuals are acknowledged for their contributions. 

Principle Author

Dennis Mikel, OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 

 

Reviewers

EPA Regions

 

 Region 4 - Thomas Dzomba, Air, Pesticides, Toxics, Management Division, Atlanta, Georgia 

 Van Shrieves, Air Pesticides, Toxics, Management Division, Atlanta, Georgia 

 Archie Lee, Science and Ecosystems Support Division, Athens, Georgia 

State/Local/Tribal Agencies

 

Steve Spaw, Texas National Resources Conservation Commission 

Michael Gilroy, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air

Michael Clark, NAREL - Montgomery, Alabama 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

Sharon Nizich, OAQPS 

Other Agencies 

Michael Koerber - Michigan Air Directors Consortium 

Comments and questions can be directed to: 

Dennis Mikel, OAQPS-EMAD, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 email: mikel.dennisk@epa.gov 
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Acronyms and Abbreviations 

AMTIC Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center 

APTI Air Pollution Training Institute 

AQS air quality system 

ASQ American Society for Quality 

ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials 

AT air toxics 

ATSC air toxics steering committee 

AWMA Air and Waste Management Association 

CAA Clean Air Act 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CO contracting officer 

DQA data quality assessment 

DQOs data quality objectives 

EDO environmental data operation 

EMAD Emissions, Monitoring, and Analysis Division 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

EPM environmental program management 

FTP file transfer protocol 

GLP good laboratory practice 

GPRA Government Performance Reporting Act 

HAPs hazardous air pollutants 

LAN local area network 

LIMS laboratory information management system 

MQAG Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group 

MSR management system review 

NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

NAMS national air monitoring station 

NAREL National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory 

NATA National Air Toxics Assessment 

NATTS National Air Toxics Trends Stations 

NATTSMP National Air Toxics Trends Station Monitoring Program 

OAQPS Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

ORD Office of Research and Development 

ORIA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air 

PC personal computer 

PE performance evaluation 

PO project officer 

QA/QC quality assurance/quality control 

QA quality assurance 

QAC quality assurance coordinator 

QAAR quality assurance annual report 

QAPP quality assurance project plan 

QMP quality management plan 

SLAMS state and local air monitoring stations 

S/L/T state/local/tribal 

SOP standard operating procedure 

SOW statement of work 

STAG state and tribal air grant 

STAPPA/ALAPCO State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators -Association of Local Air 

Pollution Control Officials 

TSA technical system audit 

UATS urban air toxics strategy 

UATMP urban air toxics monitoring program 

WAM work assignment manager
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Number

 2.1 

 2.2 

 3.1 

 9.1 

 

Tables

Description

Assessments Schedule 

List of Analytes 

Core Ambient Air Training Courses 

Assessments Schedule

Page No.

3 

4 

2 

1 
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Figures

Number Description Section Page

 1.1 

 1.2 

 5.1 

 10.1 

 

 Overview of the Eastern NATTS - 2003 

Overview of the Western NATTS - 2003 

Hierarchy of Documents 

Data Improvement Flow Diagram 

1.1 

1.1 

5.1 

10.0 

4 

4 

 

3 

1 

 
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Quality Management Plan Identification and Approval

The attached QMP for the National Air Toxics Trends Assessment Monitoring Program is hereby 

recommended for approval and commits the resources and personnel to follow the elements 

described within. 

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

1) Signature____________________________________Date______ 

Dr. Richard Scheffe, Group Leader, Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group 

2) Signature_____________________________________Date_______ 

Ms. Sharon Nizich, NATTS Program Manager 

3) Signature_____________________________________Date_______ 

Mr. Dennis Mikel, NATTS Quality Assurance Coordinator 
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Table of Contents

Section Page Revision Date

Foreword 

Acknowledgments 

Acronyms and Abbreviations 

Tables 

Figures

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 Table of Contents 9-11 2.1 12/16/02 

1. Project Task/Organization 

 1.1 Introduction and Background 

 1.1.1 National Air Toxics Assessments and the Role of Ambient 

Monitoring 

 1.1.2 The Air Toxics Program 

 1.1.3 Urban Air Toxics 

 1.2 Roles and Responsibilities 

 1.2.1 The National Air Toxics Monitoring Steering Committee 

 1.2.2 STAPPA/ALAPCO 

 1.2.3 Office of Air Quality and Standards 

 1.2.4 Office of Research and Development 

 1.2.5 EPA Regional Offices 

 1.2.6 Office of Radiation and Indoor Air 

 1.2.7 Urban Air Toxics Monitoring Program Contractor 

 1.2.8 State, Local and Tribal Air Monitoring Agencies 

 1.3 Key Personnel 

 1.4 References 

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2. Quality System and Description 

 2.1 Description of the NATTS 

 2.2 Quality Assurance System 

 2.2.1 OAQPS-EMAD 

 2.2.2 ORIA 

 2.2.3 UATMP Contractor 

 2.2.4 Regional Offices 

 2.3 Quality Documents 

 2.3.1 Quality Management Plan 

 2.3.2 Quality Assurance Plans 

 2.3.3 Assessments 

 2.3.4 Quality Assurance Annual Report 

 2.4 Description of the Monitoring System 

 2.4.1 State, Local and Tribal Agencies 

 2.4.2 Contract Laboratories 

 2.4.3 OAQPS-AQS 

 2.5 References 

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3. Personnel Qualifications and Training 

 3.1 Personal Qualification 

 3.2 Training 

 3.3 Certification 

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4. Extramural Agreements and Procurement of Items and Services 

 4.1 Sources of Funds 

 4.1.1 State Assistance Grants 

 4.1.2 OAQPS Internal Funds 

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 4.2 Procurement of Items 

 4.3 Procurement of Services 

 4.3.1 Contracts 

 4.4 Assistance Agreements 

 4.5 EPA Exclusive Versus Discretionary Functions 

 4.6 References 

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5. Records and Documentation 

 5.1 Document Hierarchy and Process 

 5.1.1 Hierarchy 

 5.1.2 Document Creation and Review Process 

 5.2 Document Responsibility 

 5.2.1 EPA OAQPS 

 5.2.2 ORIA 

 5.2.3 EPA Regional Offices 

 5.2.4 UATMP Contractor 

 5.2.5 State, Local and Tribal Agencies 

 5.3 Deposition and Storage of Documents and Records 

 5.3.1 Annual Summary Reports 

 5.3.2 Data Reporting Package/Archiving and Retrieval 

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6. Computer Software and Hardware 

 6.1 Computer Systems Description 

 6.1.1 UATMP Contractor 

 6.1.2 EPA-OAQPS 

 6.1.3 ORIA 

 6.1.4 Regional EPA Offices 

 6.2 Roles and Responsibilities 

 6.2.1 EPA Systems 

 6.2.2 UATMP Contractor 

 6.2.3 S/L/T Agencies 

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7. Planning 

 7.1 Project Goals and Objectives 

 7.2 Key Planning Personnel 

 7.2.1 Monitoring and Quality Assurance Leader 

 7.2.2 Program Manager 

 7.2.3 Quality Assurance Coordinator 

 7.3 Other Planning Activities 

 7.3.1 Tele-communications 

 7.3.2 Internet 

 7.3.3 Data Analysis 

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8. Implementation of Work 

 8.1 Implementation Roles 

 8.1.1 Program Manager 

 8.1.2 Quality Assurance Managers 

 

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9. Data Quality Assessments 

 9.1 Program Assessment Techniques 

 9.1.1 Technical Systems Audits 

 9.1.2 Network Reviews 

 9.1.3 Management Systems Reviews 

 9.1.4 Data Quality Assessments 

 9.2 Reports to Management 

 9.3 Planning, Training and Authority 

 9.3.1 Planning 

 9.3.2 Training 

 9.3.3 Authority 

 9.3.4 Disputes 

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10. Quality Improvement 

 10.1 Quality Improvement Process Flow 

 10.1.1 Assessments 

 10.1.2 Assessment Report 

 10.1.3 Response 

 10.1.4 Final Assessment Report 

 10.1.5 Review, Compilation and Analysis 

 10.1.6 Final QAAR 

 10.2 Quality Improvement Assurance 

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Contact List 1/1 2.1 12/16/02 

Appendix A - Draft Memo to Air Toxics Monitoring Steering Committee Proposed FY2002 

Trends Sites 

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1.0 Project/Task Organization 

1.1 Introduction and Background 

There are currently 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or Air Toxics (AT), regulated under the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) that have been associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects, 

including cancer, neurological effects, reproductive effects and developmental effects, as well as 

eco-system effects. These air toxics are emitted from multiple sources, including major stationary, 

area, and mobile sources, resulting in population exposure to these air toxics as they occur in the 

environment. While in some cases the public may be exposed to an individual HAP, more 

typically people experience exposures to multiple HAPs and from many sources. Exposures of 

concern result not only from the inhalation of these HAPs, but also, for some HAPs, from multipathway exposures to air emissions. For example, air emissions of mercury are deposited in water 

and people are exposed to mercury through their consumption of contaminated fish. 

Our current Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) commitments specify a goal of 

reducing air toxics emissions by 75% from 1993 levels to significantly reduce the risk to 

Americans of cancer and other serious adverse health effects caused by airborne toxics. Because 

of our limited tools to assess the impacts of these emissions on public health and the environment, 

we are focusing on reducing emissions to the extent possible. However, as we develop new 

assessment tools and begin to address the risk associated with these emissions as required by the 

CAA, we will be modifying that goal to one that focuses on risk reductions associated with 

exposure to air toxics. In working toward this risk-based goal, we will focus on the cumulative 

effects of air toxics in urban areas, the multi-media effects of air toxics on water bodies and on 

populations whose water and food are affected by the deposition of persistent and 

bio-accumulating air toxics, and the effects on sensitive populations and on economically 

disadvantaged communities. Eventually, we have a long-term goal of eliminating unacceptable 

risks of cancer and other significant health problems from exposures to air toxics emissions and to 

substantially reduce or eliminate adverse effects on our natural environment. 

1.1.1 National Air Toxics Assessments and the Role of Ambient Monitoring 

EPA finalized the Urban Air Toxics Strategy (UATS) in the Federal Register on July 19, 19991

. 

The UATS states that emissions data are needed to quantify the sources of air toxics impacts and 

aid in the development of control strategies, while ambient data are then needed to understand the 

behavior of air toxics in the atmosphere after they are emitted. Since ambient measurements 

cannot practically be made everywhere, modeled estimates are needed to extrapolate our 

knowledge of air toxics impacts into locations without monitors. Exposure assessments, together 

with health effects information, are then needed to integrate all of these data into an understanding 

of the implications of air toxics impacts and to characterize air toxics risks. The EPA proposed 

the National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA). There are four activities which are key to the 

success of the NATA. 
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< Source-specific standards and sector-based standards, including section 112 standards, i.e. 

Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), Generally Achievable Control 

Technology (GACT), residual risk standards, and section 129 standards. - National, regional, 

and community-based initiatives to focus on multi-media and; 

< Cumulative risks, such as the Integrated UATS, Great Waters, Mercury initiatives, Persistent 

Bio-accumulative Toxics (PBT) and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) initiatives, and 

Clean Air Partnerships. 

< NATA activities that will help EPA identify areas of concern, characterize risks and track 

progress. These activities include expanded air toxics monitoring, improving and periodically 

updating emissions inventories, national- and local scale air quality and exposure modeling, 

and continued research on effects and assessment tools, leading to improved characterizations 

of air toxics risk and reductions in risk resulting from ongoing and future implementation of 

air toxics emissions control standards and initiatives. 

< Education and outreach.

The success of the NATA critically depends on our ability to quantify the impacts of air 

toxics emissions on public health and the environment. All of these activities are aimed at 

providing the best technical information regarding air toxics emissions, ambient concentrations, 

and health impacts to support the development of sound policies for NATA. Specifically, these 

activities include: 

< The measurement of air toxics emission rates from pollution sources; 

< the compilation of comprehensive air toxics emission inventories for local, State, and 

national domains; 

< the analysis of patterns and trends in ambient air toxics measurements; 

< the estimation of ambient air toxics concentrations from emission inventories using 

dispersion modeling; 

< the estimation of human and environmental exposures to air toxics, and; 

< the assessment of risks due to air toxics; 

< and the measurement of technically consistent ambient concentrations of air toxics at 

trends monitoring sites throughout the nation. 

This QMP focuses on the role of ambient measurement data as one key element of the full air 

toxics assessment process, i.e., NATA. The rest of this section describes the specific uses of 

ambient monitoring data and outlines some key considerations for focusing the spatial, temporal, 

and measurement aspects of a national air toxics monitoring effort. 

The anticipated analytical uses of ambient monitoring data should be kept in mind when 

designing the measurement network. Specifically, we anticipate that ambient air toxics data will 

be useful to: 
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1. Track trends at ambient levels, which will facilitate tracking progress toward 

emission and risk reduction goals. This will help assess the effectiveness of emission 

reduction activities and this goal relates back to the GPRA goal identified above; 

2. Evaluate and subsequently improve air toxics emission inventories; and 

3. Evaluate and subsequently improve model performance and help to establish an ambient 

baseline for toxics risk characterization. 

Please note that the primary objective for this program is tracking the trends of ambient levels. 

The Data Quality Objectives2

 (DQOs) for this program were developed with this as the primary 

goal. The appropriateness of a candidate monitoring site with respect to the data uses described 

above will be the key consideration in identifying sites for the national network. EPA 

acknowledges that State/Local/Tribal (S/L/T) air pollution control agencies have been performing 

air toxics monitoring for many years, with the focus on local issues. As time and funding permits, 

EPA will attempt to address non-trends monitoring. EPA will expand its objectives when the 

funding becomes available. 

1.1.2 The Air Toxic Monitoring Program 

OAQPS, in conjunction with the EPA Regional Offices and S/L/T agencies, have developed the 

National Air Toxics Trends Stations (NATTS). The NATTS are designed to characterize air 

toxics trend on a national basis as described in Section 1.1.1. The NATTS seeks to address air 

toxics problems through a strategic combination of many different agencies’ activities and 

authorities, including regulatory approaches and voluntary partnerships. 

1.1.3 Urban Air Toxics 

There are 33 HAPS identified in the draft UATS . They are a subset of the 188 toxics identified 

in Section 112 of the CAA which are thought to have the greatest impact on the public and the 

environment in urban areas. These chemicals can be grouped into several general categories 

which include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), metals, aldehydes and semi-volatile organic 

compounds (SVOCs). The list of compounds is detailed in Section 2.4. 

Figure 1-1 and 1-2 illustrate the core NATTS in the initial roll out in FY 2003. It is possible that 

this network will expand and detract as it ages. There are additional sites that have been identified 

as being possible candidates for future expansion. These are identified in Appendix A. It is the 

expected that the core stations will be operated over a long enough period of time to produce data 

that can statistically illustrate national trends. OAQPS has developed the DQOs for this network 

that will define the extent, quality assurance objectives and amount of data needed to track trends 

and understand the nature of toxics in the nation. The following sites are the proposed core 

NATTS for FY 2003: E. Providence, RI, Boston, MA, New York City, NY, Washington, DC, 

Decatur, GA, Perry County, KY, Detroit, MI, Houston, TX, St. Louis, MO, Grand Junction, 

CO. Bountiful, UT, San Jose, CA, and Seattle, WA. Two additional sites, Bend OR and 

Chittendon, VT, are scheduled to be operated if funds are available. 
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Figure 1-1 Overview of the Eastern NATTS - 2003

Figure 1-2 Overview of the Western NATTS - 2003
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1.2 Roles and Responsibilities 

The following organizations and committees are an integral part of the NATTS Monitoring 

Program. The management structure is illustrated in Figure 2-1. 

1.2.1 The National Air Toxics Monitoring Steering Committee (ATSC): The ATSC is a 

combination of State and Local Air Pollution Control Agencies, EPA-OAQPS and EPA Regional 

representatives that meet regularly to oversee the development of the air toxics program. The 

ATSC will provide oversight on how the program will be operated. The ATSC decides how 

annual AT funds are distributed to the EPA Regional Offices. 

1.2.2. STAPPA/ALAPCO: The State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators -

Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (STAPPA/ALAPCO) is a major contributor 

to the air toxics field. STAPPA/ALAPCO advises EPA on technical and managerial issues. EPA 

and STAPPA/ALAPCO maintain a common Internet Web page 

(http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/indxtext.html), where information on air toxics rules and regulations 

can be reviewed. STAPPA/ALAPCO also has two member on the ATSC. They provide 

State/Regional/Local perspective to the NATA and specifically, the NATTS. 

 

1.2.3 Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards: OAQPS is the organization charged under 

the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to protect and enhance the quality of the nation’s air 

resources. OAQPS sets standards for pollutants considered harmful to public health or welfare 

and, in cooperation with EPA Regional Offices and the States, enforces compliance with the 

standards through regulations controlling emissions from stationary sources. OAQPS evaluates 

the need to regulate potential air pollutants and develops national standards. 

Within OAQPS, the Emissions Monitoring and Analysis Division (EMAD), the Monitoring and 

Quality Assurance Group (MQAG) will be responsible for the oversight of the NATTS. MQAG 

has the following responsibilities for the NATTS: 

< ensuring that the methods and procedures used in making air pollution measurements are 

adequate to meet the programs objectives and that the resulting data are of satisfactory quality; 

< develop QMP and field and laboratory model Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP); 

< Overall coordination of the monitoring and QA aspects; 

< evaluating the performance, through mechanisms such as, performance evaluations and 

management systems reviews, of organizations making air toxics measurements; 

< implementing satisfactory quality assurance programs over federally funded ambient air quality 

monitoring networks; 

< assess the adequacy of funding available to implement and support this plan and quality 

objectives 

< ensuring that guidance pertaining to the quality assurance aspects of the air toxics monitoring 

program are written and revised as necessary; 
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< rendering technical assistance to the EPA Regional Offices and air pollution monitoring 

community concerning sampling and analysis. 

 

1.2.4 Office of Research and Development: The office of Research and Development (ORD) is 

charged with the research and development of the air toxics methods, samplers and technical 

oversight. ORD’s role in the NATTS will be: 

< oversee development and testing of new air toxics instrument designs; 

< work closely with OAQPS to determine that the NATTS instruments are being operated in 

accordance to their design; 

< evaluate ambient data as it is collected and work with the research community to ascertain the 

meaning of the results. 

1.2.5 EPA Regional Office: EPA Regional Offices address environmental issues related to the 

states within their jurisdiction and to administer and oversee regulatory and congressionally 

mandated programs. The major quality assurance responsibilities of EPA Regional Offices, in 

regards to the NATTS, are the coordination of quality assurance matters at the Regional levels 

with the S/L/T Agencies, and to provide assessments both technical and performance. This is 

accomplished by the designation of EPA Regional Project Officers, who are responsible for the 

fiscal and some technical aspects of the program including: 

< Regional QA officer will be responsible for reviewing QAPPs from the S/L/T agencies; 

< acting as a liaison by making available the technical and quality assurance information 

developed by EPA Headquarters and the Region to the S/L/T agencies; 

< ensure expeditous awarding of grant funds; 

< making EPA Headquarters aware of the unmet quality assurance needs of the S/L/T agencies; 

< performing a thorough review of the NATTS within their region every five years; 

< performing Technical Systems Audits (TSAs) and Instrument Performance Audits (IPAs) on 

an annual basis. 

1.2.6 Office of Radiation and Indoor Air: At this time, the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air 

(ORIA) laboratory is being considered as having a Quality Assurance role in the NATTS. ORIA 

will fill this position if funds are made available. If not, OAQPS will select another quality 

laboratory to fill this specific role, which is outlined below: 

< Urban Air Toxics Monitoring Program Laboratory SOP and QAPP review; 

< Post Award PE Round Robin; 

< Post Award on-site audit; 

< Audit and Performance Evaluation (PE) Round Robin report to PO and OAQPS; 

< Ongoing QA oversight program to evaluate continuing performance through an annual PE 

Round Robin study; 
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1.2.7 Urban Air Toxics Monitoring Program Contractor: OAQPS contracts air toxics 

monitoring support through its Urban Air Toxic Monitoring Program (UATMP). The UATMP is 

a program that allows States and Local Agencies to “purchase” air toxics support by allowing 

EPA to withhold Section 105 funds. Many State and Local agencies use this support. In support 

of the NATTS, the EPA will expand UATMP Contractor’s role to provide QA guidance and 

Performance Evaluation (PE) samples to all NATTS laboratories and all laboratories that receive 

Section 105 air toxics funding. Below is a description of their duties: 

< Analysis of all samples for the UATMP; 

< Providing PE laboratory samples to the NATTS laboratories and all laboratories that receive 

Section 105 funds annually; 

< analyze QA PEs when received from the ORIA laboratory 

< coordinate with sub-contractors and assure that the good laboratory practices and QA are 

performed; 

< maintain adequate internal documentation and quality control; 

< development of a laboratory QAPP; 

< perform Level 0 and 1 validation on the data. 

1.2.8 State, Local and Tribal Air Monitoring Agencies: The S/L/T agencies are tasked in 

operating the samplers in the field and in some cases, analyze the samples at their own or contract 

laboratory facilities. The S/L/T agencies may decide to use the UATMP. The agencies will work 

closely with UATMP Contractor on shipping and receiving the AT samples. Other activities 

include: 

< Write or adhere to an AT field/laboratory QAPP which must be approved by the EPA 

Regional QA Manager; 

< store un-exposed samples in the manner described by the QAPP; 

< maintain records of sampler operation; 

< participate in any TSAs or Management Systems Reviews (MSRs); 

< perform validation on the data; 

< submit data to the Air Quality System (AQS); 

< participate in meetings and tele-conference calls given by or for OAQPS or the EPA 

Regional offices. 

1.3 Key Personnel

Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group Leader – Dr. Richard Scheffe 

Dr. Scheffe has overall responsibility for managing the NATTS. The direct responsibility for 

assuring data quality rests with management. Ultimately, the group leader is responsible for 

establishing QA policy and for resolving QA issues identified through the QA program. Major 

QA related responsibilities of the group leader include: 
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< approving the budget and planning processes; 

< assuring that the program develops and maintains an adequate quality system. 

The group leader delegates the responsibility of QA development and implementation in 

accordance with the OAQPS policy to the program manager and QA coordinator. 

 

Program Manager -- Ms. Sharon Nizich 

Ms. Nizich is the designated as the OAQPS program manager of the NATTS. She is responsible 

for the OAQPS activities that are implemented as part of normal data collection activities. 

Responsibilities include: 

< ensuring the implementation of the NATTS; 

< communication with EPA Regional Project Officers and EPA QA personnel on issues related 

to routine sampling and QA activities; 

< evaluate region to region consistency in the implementation of the program and distribution 

of funds; 

< reviewing acquisition packages (contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, inter-agency 

agreements) to determine the necessary QA requirements; 

< developing budgets and providing program costs necessary for EPA allocation activities; 

< interacting with and convening the ATSC; 

< recommending required management-level corrective actions. 

Quality Assurance Coordinator - Mr. Dennis Mikel 

Mr. Mikel will oversee the quality assurance aspects of the NATTS, as such will be designated 

the Quality Assurance Coordinator (QAC). His responsibilities include: 

< coordinating the input to the QA Annual Report (QAAR); 

< assisting in solving QA-related problems at any level of the program; 

< ensuring that an updated QAPP is in place for all environmental data operations associated 

with the program; 

< ensuring that technical systems audits, audits of data quality, and data quality assessments 

occur within the appropriate schedule and conducting or participating in these audits; 

< coordinate with the ORIA activities. 

 The QAC has the authority to carry out these responsibilities and to bring to the attention of the 

program manager or group leader any issues related to these responsibilities. 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air - Mr. Michael Clark 

The ORIA team is responsible for overseeing laboratory QA activities of the NATTS. His 

responsibilities include: 
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< implementing and overseeing the laboratory NATTS QA policy within the team; 

< oversee analysis of the QA samples; 

< reporting QA data to OAQPS staff ; 

< oversee the preparing of QA samples for the UATMP Contractor laboratory; 

< lead the MSRs and TSAs on the UATMP Contractor laboratory. 

UATMP Contractor Laboratory Program Director 

Laboratory personnel are responsible for carrying out a required task(s) and ensuring the data 

quality results of the task(s) by adhering to guidance and protocol specified by the QAPP and 

SOPs for the lab activities. His/her responsibilities include: 

 

< oversee participating in training and certification activities; 

< participating in the development of data quality requirements (laboratory) with the appropriate 

QA staff; 

< overseeing the writing and modifying of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and good 

laboratory practices (GLPs); 

< oversee the preparing and shipping of all samples to the State and Local agencies; 

< supervise the analysis of all samples; 

< oversee the performing and documenting of preventative maintenance on laboratory 

equipment; 

< overseeing the submission of final valid data to the AQS database; 

< preparing and delivering reports to the OAQPS program manager and QA officer. 

 

Technical Lead - Ms. Joann Rice 

Ms. Rice will provide technical oversight for the implementation of the NATTS. Her 

responsibilities include: 

 

< providing technical guidance to all agencies on the operation of the NATTS; 

< assisting all agencies that operate NATTS laboratory technical guidance; 

< interact with OAQPS staff during tele-conference discussion. 

1.4 References 

1. Federal Register Notice, Chapter 64, Section 38705, National Air Toxics Program, The 

Integrated Urban Strategy, July 19, 1999, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/urban/fr19jy99.pdf 

 2. Quality Assurance Guidance Document - Model Quality Assurance Project Plan 

 For the National Air Toxics Trends Stations, EPA Document, 454/R-02-007, December 

2002, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/airtxfil.html
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2.0 Quality System Description 

This chapter will describe the principle components comprising the quality system and how they 

are used to implement the quality system. In addition, the latter part of this chapter will briefly 

discuss the monitoring system and how samples and data flow through the system. 

 

2.1 Description of the NATTS Monitoring Program 

Figure 2.1 illustrates the systems in place that have oversight of the NATTS Monitoring Program. 

Figure 2.1 Description of the NATTS Structure

Air Toxics Steering 

Committee

NATTSMP Coordination Activities

OAQPS Group Leader 

R. Scheffe

Project Manager

S. Nizich

STAPPA/ALLAPCO

Regional Offices 

QA Coordinator

D. Mikel

Trends Network Field Activities

State, Local and 

Tribal Agencies 

Field Operations

Laboratory Activities

QA OVersight

UATMP Contractor

Lab QA Auditing 

and Technical 

Assistance ORIA 

M. Clark 

A

B C

State, Local and 

Tribal Agencies 

Laboratory 

Operations

Technical Lead

J. Rice 

 ORD

Technical Support
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Figure 2.1 illustrates that there are two distinct systems in place for the NATTS: the QA System 

and Monitoring System. The following sections will highlight these. 

2.2 Quality Assurance System

2.2.1 OAQPS-EMAD: At the top of the QA structure is the OAQPS-QAC. It is the QAC’s 

responsibility to oversee that QA is implemented into the program. The QAC will interact with a 

monitoring workgroup that has formed. The monitoring workgroup consists of EPA, State and 

local agency, Regional Office, and ORIA QA staff. They will meet periodically to discuss 

monitoring and QA issues as they arise throughout the program. The QAC will also work directly 

with the ORIA and UATMP Contractor offices. Assessment Reports will be given to the QAC on 

an annual basis. These will include the results of the assessments listed in Table 2.1 performed 

during the previous year. The ORIA offices; ORIA will have important roles in the QA system.. 

In addition, the MQAG may also perform MSR or TSAs on any of the agencies in the QA or 

monitoring system. 

2.2.2 ORIA: ORIA will have QA oversight of the UATMP Contractor laboratory operations. As 

such, the laboratory will perform TSAs or MSRs on the UATMP Contractor laboratory operation 

on an annual basis. In addition, the ORIA will create laboratory PE samples that will be forward 

to the UATMP Contractor lab. 

2.2.3 UATMP Contractor: The UATMP Contractor will have an important role in the QA 

system. The UATMP Contractor will create blind PE samples, distributed annually, for the S/L/T 

agencies that participate in the NATTS. These will be sampled containing VOCs, SVOCs, metal, 

and aldehydes. The blind PE samples will consist of laboratory generated and ambient PE 

samples. The results of the PE samples will be forwarded to OAQPS and included in the annual 

Quality Assurance Annual Report (QAAR). 

2.2.4 Regional Offices: The EPA Regional Offices will provide Network Reviews of the 

NATTS on each agency within their region once every three years and perform TSAs and 

Instrument Performance Audits (IPAs) on an annual basis. 

2.3 Quality Documents 

The following are the documents, plans and guidelines by which the NATTS will be 

implemented. 

2.3.1 Quality Management Plan: This QMP (described herein) outlines the management 

structure and how the QA system will be implemented. All entities listed in this QMP will adhere 

to these guidelines. 
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2.3.2 Quality Assurance Plans: All entities will develop QAPPs for their programs. This 

includes the State, Local and Tribal Agencies, UATMP Contractor and ORIA. All state and local 

agencies will develop field QAPPs that will outline how their QA system will be implemented. 

OAQPS has written a model field QAPP that can be used by the state and local agencies in 

drafting their individual QAPPs. 

2.3.3 Assessments: There are several assessments tools that will be implemented by the QA 

system. The following table illustrates the implementation of assessments. Each of these 

assessments will be discussed in detail in Chapter 8. 

Table 2.1 Assessment Schedule

Agency Type of Assessment Agency Assessed Frequency 

ORIA TSA and PEs, round robin 

inter-laboratory samples 

UATMP Contractor Annually 

UATMP Contractor PEs S/L/T agencies Annually 

OAQPS-EMAD MSRs, TSAs UATMP 

Contractor, ORIA, 

EPA Regional and 

S/L/T agencies 

As needed by 

EMAD 

determination 

Regional Offices Network Reviews S/L/T agencies Once every 5 

years

Regional Offices TSAs and IPAs S/L/T agencies Annually * 

* Not all instruments in the program will be audited every year. It is estimated that 25% of the instruments will be 

audited annually. 

Assessments will be performed as the program begins and on a periodic basis after June 2003. 

 

2.3.4 Quality Assurance Annual Report: QAAR will be a culmination of information from the 

assessments provided by the Regional Offices, ORIA and UATMP Contractor. In addition, 

OAQPS will download the collocation data from the AQS database and estimate precision and 

bias. The QAARs will include the results from the assessments described in Table 2.1 and will 

include all QA data collected by these entities and summarized for a calendar year. The report 

will also outline any additional assessments and actions needed to correct any deficiencies in 

S/L/T agency operations. 
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2.4 Description of the Monitoring System

 

This section will outline the monitoring system as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Data will be collected 

on the list of analytes in Table 2.2 . 

 Table 2.2 List of Analytes 

Required1 Core2 Max3

Benzene, chromium, acrolein, 

and formaldehyde

Acetaldehyde, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, 

carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2-

dichloropropane, dichloromethane, 

tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, 

vinyl chloride, arsenic, beryillium, 

cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, 

nickel, formaldehyde and acrolein

Acrylonitrile, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon 

tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2 dibromomethane, 1,3-

dichloropropene, 1,2-dichloropropane, ethylene 

dichloride, ethylene oxide, dichloromethane, 

tetrachloro ethane, tetrachloroethylene, 

trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, beryillium, 

cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, manganese, 

nickel, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and acrolein, 2,2,7,8 

tetrachlorobenzo-p-dioxin, coke oven emissions, 

hexachlorobenzene, hydrazine, polycyclic organic 

matter, polychloronated biphenyls, quinoline

As can be seen from Table 2-2, there are a number of analytes on the list. Sampling for these 

compounds can be performed by a variety of ways. A Technical Assistance Document4 has been 

developed which details the proven analytical methods for many of these compounds. However, 

there are no National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for air toxics, therefore, if an 

agency pursues a method that is not detailed in the TAD, the acceptance of the data will be 

Performance Based. S/L/T agencies will have to provide the technical information to EPA when 

selecting the instruments and laboratory analytical techniques. 

2.4.1 State, Local and Tribal Agencies: The S/L/T agencies will provide all of the field work for 

the NATTS. Laboratory analyses will be performed according to the S/L/T agency QAPP. For 

the S/L/T that participate in the UATMP, the UATMP Contractor will perform these duties. 

Below is a list of duties: 

Pre-Sampling 

< Receiving materials from the vendors; 

< Checking sample integrity; 

< Conditioning filters, preparing cartridges and canisters; 

< Weighing filters; 

< Storing prior to field use; 

< Packaging filters for field use; 

< Associated QA/QC activities; 
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< Maintaining microbalance and analytical equipment at specified environmental conditions; 

< Equipment maintenance and calibrations. 

Shipping/Receiving 

< Receiving samples from the field and logging into database; 

< Storing samples; 

< Associated QA/QC activities. 

Post-Sampling 

< Checking samples integrity; 

< Stabilizing/weighing filters; 

< extraction and analysis of samples ; 

< Data downloads from field samplers; 

< Validation and verfication; 

< Data entry/upload to AQS; 

< Storing samples/archiving; 

< Associated QA/QC activities. 

2.4.2 Contract Laboratories: Some of the S/L/T agencies will decide to use contract 

laboratories or UATMP Contract. If this is the case, the pre-sampling, shipping and receiving and 

post-sampling procedures will be performed by the contract laboratory or UATMP Contractor. It 

is the S/L/T agency responsibility to oversee their laboratories operations. 

2.4.3 OAQPS – AQS: The EPA-OAQPS office will have the authority and responsibility for 

oversight of this program. The agency has two separate roles: storage of the data into the AQS 

database and oversight of the operation of the program. OAQPS will receive and review the QA 

reports that will be generated by the ORIA laboratory. In addition, it will provide technical 

assistance to UATMP Contractor, the State and Local Agencies and the ORIA laboratory. 

2.5 References

1. Air Toxics Monitoring Newsletter, April 2002, 04-19-02, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic

/files/ambient/airtox/atmn7.pdf

2. Air Toxics Reporting Guide - Ambient Air Toxics Monitoring Pilot Study, October 2001, 

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/airtxfil.html

3. Federal Register Notice, Chapter 64, Section 38705, National Air Toxics Program, The 

Integrated Urban Strategy, July 19, 1999, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/urban/fr19jy99.pdf 

4. Air Toxics Methods Technical Assistance Document is currently being developed. It should 

be available in Fall 2002. 
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3.0 Personal Qualifications and Training 

This section will discuss the system and process put in place to provide training for the NATTS. 

And will outline the process involved and training available for air monitoring professionals. 

The process of training personnel will be a three pronged approach. First, the agencies must 

select persons who have the minimum qualifications to perform the duties. Second, the agencies 

must train the individuals for the basics of air monitoring theory and technique. OAQPS provides 

numerous satellite classes and on-your-own courses that are free to air monitoring individuals. 

All persons working on this program are encouraged to take these courses. 

3.1 Personnel Qualifications

OAQPS, in conjunction with UATMP Contractor, will make every effort to provide training to all 

who participate in this program. Personnel assigned to the NATTS should meet the educational, 

work experience, responsibility, personal attributes, and training requirements for their positions. 

Although OAQPS will provide training to all agencies, it cannot require the state and local 

agencies or any contractors to send their staff to EPA training courses. During MSRs, EPA and its 

contracts will review records on personnel qualifications and training. All agencies should 

maintain these records in personnel files and have them accessible for review during audit 

activities. 

3.2 Training

Appropriate training will be made available to employees supporting the NATTS, commensurate 

with their duties. For the S/L/T agencies that are using the UATMP, UATMP Contractor 

provides field Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and direct training when they assist the 

S/L/T agencies in setting up the UATMP samplers. 

Over the last 3 years, a number of courses have been developed in cooperation with EPA for 

personnel involved with ambient air monitoring and quality assurance aspects. Formal QA/QC 

training is offered through the following organizations: 

< Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI) http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaq.apti.html

< Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA) http://awma.org/epr.htm

< American Society for Quality (ASQ) http://www.asq.org/products/educat.html

< Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center 

 http://www4.nau.edu/tams/ 

< EPA Quality staff http://www.epa.gov/quality1
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The above mentioned courses are open to all air monitoring personnel. EPA strongly encourages 

all S/ L/T agencies and contractors to take these courses. Table 3.1 presents a sequence of core 

ambient air monitoring and QA courses for ambient air monitoring staff, and QA managers. The 

suggested course sequences assume little or no experience in QA/QC or air monitoring. Persons 

having experience in the subject matter described in the courses would select courses according to 

their appropriate experience level. Courses not included in the core sequence would be selected 

according to individual responsibilities, preferences, and available resources. 

Table 3.1 Core Ambient Air Training Courses

Sequence Course Title (SI = self instructional) Source

1* Air Pollution Control Orientation Course (Revised), SI:422 APTI 

2* Principles and Practices of Air Pollution Control, 452 APTI 

3* Orientation to Quality Assurance Management QAD 

4* Introduction to Ambient Air Monitoring (Under Revision), SI:434 APTI 

5* General Quality Assurance Considerations for Ambient Air Monitoring (Under Revision), SI:471 APTI 

6* Quality Assurance for Air Pollution Measurement Systems (Under Revision), 470 APTI 

7* Data Quality Objectives Workshop QAD 

8* Quality Assurance Project Plan QAD 

9 Atmospheric Sampling (Under Revision), 435 APTI 

10 Analytical Methods for Air Quality Standards, 464 APTI 

11 Chain-of-Custody Procedures for Samples and Data, SI:443 APTI 

* Data Quality Assessment QS 

* Management Systems Review QS 

* Beginning Environmental Statistical Techniques (Revised), SI:473A APTI 

* Introduction to Environmental Statistics, SI:473B APTI 

* Statistics for Effective Decision Making ASQ

AQS Training OAQPS

* Courses recommended for QA Managers

 
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3.3 Certification

 It will be the responsibility of the S/L/T agencies to certify their staff for this program. 
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4.0 Extramural Agreements and Procurement of Items and Services

OAQPS must ensure that the items and services it acquires are procured within EPA regulations 

are delivered in a timely fashion, and are within the required specifications. The following 

sections will provide general information on OAQPS procurement procedures and provide 

personnel involved in the Speciation Program with the a description of the requirements 

4.1 Source of Funds

 

4.1.1 State and Tribal Air Grants: Since implementation of the NATTS is a State and Local 

responsibility, the source of funds for the program are awarded as Section 103 and eventually 

105 State and Tribal Air Grants (STAG). Every year funds will be allocated to the State and 

local air monitoring organizations to operate the NATTS. The funds are allocated to the EPA 

Regions who then allocate them to the State, Local or Tribal agencies. These agencies then 

follow their own procurement policies to get the NATTS monitoring accomplished. 

 A portion of the STAG funds are allocated back to OAQPS for two activities 

1. National NATTS monitor contract- OAQPS set up a national contract to facilitate the 

purchase of NATTS monitors 

2. UATMP laboratory contract- OAQPS set up a national contract to perform all the filter 

preparation and analyses and reporting activities. 

Each year OAQPS will submit a request for the appropriate allocation of funds for these 

activities based on the number of monitors being implemented (or planned) for that fiscal year. 

These allocations or “taps” on the STAG funds are approved by the States. 

4.1.2 OAQPS Internal funds: Each year OAQPS plans the activities it will pursue in the 

upcoming fiscal year. NATTS monitoring and QA leads will work with various work groups 

and cooperators to prioritize the use of the environmental program management (EPM) funds. 

These funds may be used to purchase capital equipment or for contracting. 

OAQPS, through the Memorandum of Agreement with the ORIA labs (ORIA), will provide 

contract funds to this labs. The use/ allocation of the funds will be negotiated during fiscal year 

planning. 
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4.2 Procurement of Items

Within EPA, only contracting officers (COs) are authorized to procure items and services, unless 

it is a fund transaction approved by the CO prior to the originators purchase of the item. The 

Federal Government is not bound by any commitments made by other than authorized personnel. 

Requests for purchases begin at the yearly planning stages of the NATTS for the EPA or STAG 

funds. Purchases by contractors must be identified in the project scope of work for such 

purchases. All items should be identified and specifications that meet the NATTS minimum 

needs should be detailed. These specifications will be referred to during the procurement 

process and will assure that the OAQPS requestor receives the proper item and reduces the 

chances of purchase delays or incorrect purchases because of inadequate product specifications. 

State and local funds are allocated through procurement and should follow 

state and local procurement policies. 

4.3 Procurement of Services

Two types of mechanisms are primarily used to procure services, contracts and assistance 

agreements (grants, cooperative agreements, etc.). As mentioned in section 4.2, COs are the only 

individuals who can obligate funds. 

When procuring services, one should follow the same basic procedure used for the procurement 

of items. There are certain activities that are of a policy- and decision-making nature that should 

remain the sole authority of EPA. The CO should be contacted during the initial planning of the 

PR to discuss specific requirements for the procurement. 

The Project Officer (PO) states the service that will be delivered, measures the quality of the 

service, and accepts the service. When a level-of-effort contract is the vehicle used in procuring 

services, the work assignment manager (WAM) provides the technical expertise for the work 

assignment and assumes responsibility for the QA requirements assigned to the PO. Two major 

tools to ensure that adequate service is provided are a well-defined statement of work (SOW) and 

a QA Project Plan (QAPP) that includes reviews (audits). 

The QAC assists in this activity by providing knowledge and guidance on the QA requirements 

and aspects of any potential project. The QAC will also approve the QA review form that is 

discussed in the next section. 

4.3.1 Contracts: Contracts are used when the government derives sole benefit from a particular 

product or service. Contracts can be specific and can require a degree of lead time for 

development. Depending upon the scope of the service, QA attributes can be developed that 

must be adhered to under the terms and agreements of the contract. Any EPA initiated contracts 

are required to use some type of QA form to determine if the contract will require EDO and 
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therefore requires a QMP and a QAPP. After the form is completed it must be reviewed by the 

WAM/PO and a QAC. The form must be kept in the official contract file. 

 

The Federal Acquisition Regulations(FAR), Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations, was 

recently amended to address contract quality systems requirements on a government-wide basis. 

The new FAR clause at 52.246-11, Higher-Level Quality Requirement, allows a Federal agency 

to select a voluntary consensus standard as the basis for its quality requirements for contracts and 

allows tailoring of the standard to more effectively address specific needs or purposes. Based on 

this FAR clause, EPA has selected ANSI/ASQ E4, Specifications and Guidelines for Quality 

Systems for Environmental Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs, as the 

basis for its environmental quality requirements and has tailored this standard to ensure that 

contractors demonstrate conformance to this national standard. The background and application 

of the new procurement policy as it relates to QA is included in Appendix A. 

Due to these changes, 48 CFR 1546, a quality regulation that applies only to EPA, will be 

removed from the Code of Federal Regulations. The tailoring language allowed by 52 CFR 246-

11 and pertinent requirements in 48 CFR 1546 will be included in the EPA Directive 1900, 

Contracts Management Manual. This procurement policy notice is being issued to ensure an 

orderly transition from 48 CFR 1546 to EPA Directive 1900 and contains tailoring language 

allowed by 52 CFR 246-11. It is in effect until the revisions to Directive 1900 are completed 

Whenever the government enters into a contract, it is entitled to receive quality service. In order 

to define and measure this quality, the WAM/PO must develop a SOW that will accurately 

define the minimum acceptable requirements for the service. Methods used to determine quality 

(audits, quarterly interviews, random inspections, etc.) should be explained prior to project 

implementation so that the supplier will understand how quality will be assessed. 

Part of the procurement process of certain types of large contracts include the use of a technical 

evaluation panel (TEP). When this form of contracting mechanism is used to solicit contracts for 

the NATTS, which a significant percent of the cost (> 25%) includes EDO, the TEP must 

include the QAC. Part of the TEP responsibilities will include rating each potential contractor 

against a standard set of criteria. A portion of this criteria can include various assessments such 

as on-site audits and the analysis of performance evaluation materials. Prior to the solicitation 

for bid, it must be determined what proportion of the TEP rating will be allocated to QA 

assessments. It is suggested that a minimum of 5% of the overall TEP rating be allocated to QA. 

 
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4.4 Assistance Agreements

Assistance agreements are used when both parties (EPA and the group providing the service) 

derive benefit out of the service. This usually occurs with grants or cooperative agreements 

where universities or states derive benefits from participating in Environmental Data 

Organizations (EDOs). QA requirements are developed for all assistance agreements that 

include EDOs. OAQPS follows guidelines developed in the EPA Assistance Administration 

Manual (EPA-5700). Assistance agreement SOWs are usually developed jointly. However, 

once the SOW is completed, the parties must also agree on the quality standards for assuring the 

product or service. It is the responsibility of the WAM/PO to be knowledgeable of the EPA QA 

policy and to represent these standards during the development of the projects SOW. Special 

conditions are usually included in assistance agreements. The PO will list the conditions to 

which project participants must adhere. One of these conditions relates to QAPPs. Any 

assistance agreement that includes EDOs must include the following statement: 

A quality assurance project plan must be submitted within 90 days of this agreement 

and/or 30 days prior to commencement of any EDOs. Implementation dates will be 

adjusted based upon the above conditions. Costs associated with data collection are not 

allowable costs until the quality assurance project plan is submitted, nor will costs be 

reimbursed until the quality assurance program plan is approved.

4.5 EPA Exclusive Versus Discretionary Functions

The following information comes directly from EPA Quality Manual for Environmental 

Programs 53601

. 

Many quality system activities involving EDOs are inherently governmental functions and must 

be performed only by EPA personnel or by personnel explicitly authorized by EPA based on 

statute, regulation, or by the terms of an extramural agreement. Such representatives may 

include other governmental personnel and with specific authorization, contractor personnel. 

When such quality management tasks are performed by a contractor, the contract must be 

appropriately managed and must remain under the control of the authorized EPA contracting 

representatives. EPA cannot use cooperative agreements or grants to provide quality 

management activities such as QA and QC services for EPA because it is an inappropriate use of 

financial assistance (Office of General Counsel memorandum, August 2, 1994). 

This section describes the quality management tasks necessary to comply with the Order and 

identifies those tasks that may be performed by non-government personnel under appropriate 

management controls. 

Two types of quality management functions are described: 
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C Exclusively EPA Functions - inherently governmental work which must be performed 

only by responsible EPA officials, including the QA Managers (QAMs), or authorized 

EPA representatives. 

C Discretionary Functions - activities that may be performed either by EPA personnel or by 

non-EPA personnel under the specific technical direction of and performance 

monitoring by the QA Manager or other responsible EPA or Government official under 

an approved contract, work assignment, delivery order, task order, etc. 

In the situations involving the other associated functions, there may be instances involving 

sensitive contracting services, advisory and assistance services, and vulnerable contracting 

practices as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulations, Office of Federal Procurement 

Policy (OFPP), and the EPA Contracts Management Manual (EPA Order 1900). Such situations 

are identified by italicized text in the following sections. In addition, management approval of 

services contracts as defined by OFPP Letter 93-1 must be obtained for many of the associated 

tasks. 

Technical direction or other instructions to an extramural organization, relating to performance 

of an extramural agreement, shall be provided only by authorized EPA or other Government 

representatives in accordance with the terms of the applicable extramural agreement. Only 

authorized EPA or other Government representatives are to provide direction or instructions to 

an extramural organization providing quality systems support for environmental programs. This 

is to avoid such actions as: 

C the providing of directions or instructions that are inconsistent with the terms of an 

extramural agreement, 

C unauthorized access to confidential business information (CBI), or 

C unauthorized access to information that may allow an extramural organization to gain an 

unfair competitive advantage. 

4.5.1 Mandatory Quality Management Tasks and Descriptions: This section describes the 

activities and tasks integral to an effective quality system. These tasks are required to implement 

EPA Order 5360.1 CHG 1. 

 Manage and Coordinate the Quality System

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel include: 

C managing the day-to-day implementation of the mandatory quality system; 

C acting as liaison between the organization and the QS on matters of QA policy; 

C provide assessments of the adequacy of resources to support the system. 
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C coordinating with senior management changes to the Quality System as needed to assure 

its continued effectiveness and assisting in reporting the results annually to management 

and to QS in the QA Annual Report and Work Plan; 

C maintaining records of pertinent quality system activities performed by the organization. 

 Review and Approve Procurement and Financial Assistance Documents for QA Requirements

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel include: 

C reviewing procurement and financial assistance documents (e.g., statements of work, 

scopes of work, applications for assistance, funding requests, and purchase requests) to 

confirm any need for QA requirements, providing any necessary special language or 

conditions for such QA requirements, and approving by signature the appropriate 

Quality Assurance Review Form. 

C participating directly or indirectly in the solicitation or agreement review process to 

advise the Project Officer on the suitability of the officer's quality system or quality 

assurance/quality control (QA/QC) approach for the particular project. 

C reviewing work assignments, delivery orders, and task orders to certify that appropriate 

QA/QC requirements have been established and that the necessary instructions are being 

communicated to the contractor to carry out the required QA/QC tasks. Approving by 

signature appropriate Quality Assurance Review Form (EPA Order 1900, Chapter 2). 

Review and Approve QA Planning Documents

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel or their authorized 

EPA representative include: 

C reviewing Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) for all projects, work assignments, 

delivery orders, task orders, grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements 

involving data acquisition, data generation, and/or measurement activities that are 

performed on behalf of EPA. 

C approving all QAPPs for implementation in all applicable projects, work assignments, 

delivery orders, task orders, grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements 

performed on behalf of EPA. 

C coordinating the correction of deficient QAPPs with the Project Officer and his/her 

management. 

Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C reviewing, at the specific technical direction of the QAM, QA Project Plans and other 

QA-related planning documents, such as sampling and analysis plans, Data Quality 

Objectives (DQO) specifications, etc., and providing specific substantiated 
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recommendations to the QAM on the adequacy of the QA approach in meeting the 

criteria provided by the QAM. (The reviews should identify specific technical 

deficiencies in the planning documents.)

 Track and Report Quality System Deliverables

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel or their authorized 

EPA representative include: 

C tracking critical quality system deliverables for the organization and make periodic 

reports to senior management on the status of reporting actions and deliverables. 

Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C compiling/logging administrative and management information including turnaround 

times to correct deficient QAPPs, responses to audits (e.g., responses and corrective 

actions), and quality reviews of final reports. 

 Manage Contractor Support Work Assignments, Delivery Orders, and Task Orders

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel include: 

C serving as the Contracting Officer Representative (for example, Project Officer, Work 

Assignment Manager, or Delivery Order Project Officer) for specific QA support 

contracts, work assignments, delivery orders, and task orders. 

 Plan and Conduct Management Assessments

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel include: 

C planning, directing, and conducting assessments of the effectiveness of the quality system 

being applied to environmental data operations and reporting results to senior 

management. Such assessments may be conducted using the Management Systems 

Review (MSR) process. 

C coordinating with senior management any revision of the quality system as necessary 

based on the findings of the assessment. 

Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C providing technical support to the EPA QAM in the planning phase of management 

assessments. (Such activities are limited to the assembly and compilation of background 
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information and data, guidance documents, technical reports, etc., available in the public 

domain, for use by EPA in designing the assessment goals and specifications.)

 Plan and Conduct Technical Assessments

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel or their authorized 

EPA representative include: 

C planning and directing with the responsible EPA project officials the implementation of 

periodic technical assessments of ongoing environmental data operations to provide 

information to management to assure that technical and quality objectives are being met 

and that the needs of the customer are being satisfied. Such assessments may include 

technical systems audits, surveillance, performance evaluations, and data quality 

assessments. 

C determining conclusions and necessary corrective actions (if any) based on the findings 

of the assessments. 

Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C performing technical assessments of environmental data producing activities, both 

intramural and extramural (on-site and off-site) according to a specific plan approved 

by the QAM. Preparations for such assessments may include the acquisition or 

development of audit materials and standards. Results (findings) are summarized, 

substantiated, and presented to the QAM or authorized EPA representative.

A determination of whether an authorized Agency representative should accompany a 

contractor’s personnel should be made on a case-by-case basis only after coordination 

between the responsible organization and contracting officer. Such coordination should 

include consideration of the purpose of the accompaniment and clear definition of the 

Agency representative’s role and responsibility during the contractor’s performance of 

the audit or technical assessment to avoid the appearance of a personal services 

relationship.

 Prepare and Present QA Training Materials and Courses

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel or their authorized 

EPA representative include: 

C developing and presenting detailed guidance and training for QA/QC activities based on 

interpretation of Agency-wide requirements and guidance. 
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Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C providing or coordinating quality-related training for the organization in special skill 

areas identified by the Agency and not generally available to the organization.

C providing allowable technical and/or logistical assistance in preparing and presenting 

quality-related technical training (within the Agency’s implementation of special 

management and control measures and the constraints of potential for conflict of 

interest, of revealing confidential business information, or of appearing to be 

interpreting or representing Agency policy).

Review and Approve Final Reports for Quality Documentation

Exclusively EPA functions that must be performed by EPA QA personnel or their authorized 

EPA representative include: 

C establishing criteria for the acceptability of quality documentation in the organization's 

published papers and reports; that is, defining what is required for an adequate discussion 

of the quality of the project results and the usability of the information reported. 

C approving for publication those papers and reports that meet the defined criteria. 

Discretionary functions that may be performed by either EPA personnel or non-EPA personnel 

include: 

C conducting a substantiated technical review of all reports produced by the organization 

using the qualitative and quantitative specifications obtained from the DQO process or 

other criteria provided by EPA. This quality review complements the peer review 

process.

4.6 References 

1. Policy and Program Specifications for the Mandatory Agency-wide Quality System, EPA 

Order 5360.1 A2, May 2000, http://www.epa.gov/quality1/qa_docs.html

 
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5. 0 Records and Documentation 

The responsibility of record keeping will fall upon OAQPS, ORIA, S/LT agencies and UATMP 

Contractor. For the NATTS, there are number of documents and records that need to be 

retained. A document, from a records management perspective, is a volume that contains 

information which describes, defines, specifies, reports, certifies, or provides data or results 

pertaining to environmental programs. As defined in the Federal Records Act of 1950 and the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (now 44 U.S.C. 3101-3107), records are: "...books, papers, 

maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of 

physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government 

under Federal Law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or 

appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the 

organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the 

Government or because of the informational value of data in them...” OAQPS, ORIA, will 

adhere to this guideline. The S/L/T agencies and UATMP Contractor will be strongly 

encouraged to adhere to this guideline as well. Section 5.1 illustrates the process that will be 

implemented for storing documents and records. Since many agencies are involved, their 

documentation storage capabilities and processes will differ; however, there is one thing to 

which must to adhered, all documents and records for this program will be securely stored. For 

more information on document control and storage, please see the individual agency QAPPs. 

5.1 Document Hierarchy and Process

This section will outline the hierarchy of the documentation and illustrate the review process for 

the major documents created for this program. Please See Figure 5.1 for an illustration of the 

documents that govern the NATTS program. 

5.1.1 Hierarchy: The Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA Order 5360.1 A2, May 2000 are the 

overarching documents for this program. As such, all authority to create programs and allocate 

funds is given in these documents. EPA Order 5360.1 gives the EPA authority to require all 

agencies that accept federal funds to create QMPs, QAPPs and Network Plans. For the NATTS, 

OAQPS has the authority to require, review, comment and withhold funds if these requirements 

are not met. The order of hierarchy follows: 

1. The CAA and Order 5360.1 are the overarching authority. 

2. The QMP encompasses the entire program. All agencies, ORIA, OAQPS, UATMP 

Contractor and the S/L/T will adhere to the requirements and guidelines in the QMP. 

The QMP discusses the roles of each agency. 

3. The QAPPs for individual agencies will govern that agency. The agency must 

adhere to the statements made in their QAPP. 

4. The Network Plan will outline how the network will be implemented and document 

the location of each sampler with all ancillary data. 
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5.1.2 Document Creation and Review Process: Please see Figure 5.1 for structure of the 

documentation in this NATTS program. 

QMP - The QMP for this program was generated by OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG. It has the 

overarching authority over all QAPPs, Network Plan and all other ancillary documents. 

This document will undergo thorough review by OAQPS, ORD, ORIA, and UATMP 

Contractor. It will be made available for comments to the S/L/T agencies as well. Since 

changes may be made in this program, any revisions must be reviewed by all OAQPS and 

ORIA. 

QAPPs - The QAPPs written by the individual agencies to describe their process of assuring 

the quality of the data. OAQPS delegates the authority to review these individual QAPPs to 

the Regional QA officers. 

Network Plan - OAQPS requests that all agencies that will operate a NATTS sampler will 

take electronic photographs of each site in the cardinal directions. An additional photograph 

of the site will also be taken. These will be forwarded to OAQPS with all other siting data. 

OAQPS will create an database which will include the following: 

< Electronic photo of the sampler in place; 

< Electronic photos of the area in all cardinal directions; 

< Maps of the area showing local sources (if known); 

< Coordinates of the location generated by Geographic Positioning Systems. 

This data will be compiled and placed in a database. Since this data will also be entered in 

to the AQS, the OAQPS database will be updated periodically. All of this data will be 

placed on Compact Disk (CD) and distributed and stored by OAQPS. Any parties that wish 

to review the network will be able to obtain this data expeditiously. 

Other Documents - The responsibility of all other documents is detailed in the next section. 
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Figure 5.1 Hierarchy of Documents

 

5.2 Documentation Responsibilities

5.2.1 EPA OAQPS: This division has oversight of the NATTS. As such, the documents that 

must be control and stored are under the jurisdiction. The Program Manager and the QA 

coordinators are defined below. 

Program Manager - The program manager is responsible for the overall operation and 

technical guidance for the program. The documents and records under his/her jurisdiction, 

are reports to management, summaries of discussion and conference calls, technical 

guidance documents and any other data shared with all agencies involved. 

Clean Air

 Act EPA Order 5360.1

QMP

QAPP

QAPP

QAPP

ORIA QAPP UATMP 

Contractor QAPP

S/T/L QAPPs

Network Plan on CD

and Internet

Network Plan on EPA 

Computer System













































  





NATTS QMP
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QA coordinator - The QAC is responsible for the QA aspects of this program. As such, he 

is responsible for the QA documents related to QA conference calls The QAC is also 

responsible for the oversight and review of the NATTS QMP and all QAPPs created by the 

UATMP Contractor, ORIA and S/L/T agencies 

5.2.2 ORIA 

Project Manager - The project manager is responsible for the oversight of the laboratory 

QA at ORIA. As such, he/she is responsible for the storage of all records and documents 

generated by this lab. The ORIA approach uses bound notebooks to enter data on any stock 

solutions, working calibration or dilutions that are generated. It is the project manager’s 

responsibility to assure that all personnel under his jurisdiction keep these secured when not 

in use or overnight. 

Quality Assurance Chemists - The QA chemist is responsible for the QA oversight of this 

laboratory. Any records created that pertains to duplicates, spikes or other QA samples will 

be under the QA chemist’s jurisdiction. 

 

5.2.3 EPA Regional Offices: The Regional Office approach uses bound notebooks to enter 

data on any flow rate or field performance evaluations. Standard TSA forms will be filled out in 

the field situation. The data will then be entered into spreadsheets/word processing programs on 

laptop. 

Project Manager - The project manager, in cooperation with the QAC, is responsible for 

the oversight of the field QA. As such, he/she is responsible for the storage of all records 

and documents generated by field TSA or performance audits. The project managers 

responsibility to assure that all personnel under his jurisdiction keep the handwritten and 

electronic field reports locked when not in use or overnight. 

Regional QA Officers- The EPA Regional QA officers are responsible for the QA 

documentation related their individual QAPPs. In addition, these officers are responsible 

for the storage of the maintenance and operation documentation required to run a local 

program. 

Field Auditors - The field auditors are responsible for the collection of QA data at the 

monitoring locations during TSAs or field performance evaluations. Any records created on 

paper or in on laptop computer must be in the auditors presence when traveling or be in 

his/her locked room. 

5.2.4 UATMP Contractor: The UATMP Contractor will handle the bulk of the documentation 

and records for those agencies that utilize the UATMP contract. The UATMP Contractor has 

fully documented their system in their QAPP. The UATMP Contractor has a two tiered level of 
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management. The first tier has the program services manager, who is overall responsible lab 

operations and the QA Manager. The second tier is the Technical Area Supervisors. Each is 

responsible for maintaining, quality handling, storage and retrieval of their area records. 

5.2.5 State, Local and Tribal Agencies: Each agency will retain copies of their documents and 

records pertaining to the operation, storage or handling of samples. These records must be made 

available for inspection and review by EPA or its designee. 

5.3 Deposition and Storage of Documents and Records

This section will address the deposition, storage accessibility, protection, of documents and 

records. It is noted that the persons filling the roles mentioned above are responsible for the 

documents and record that they generate. These agencies will take full responsibility for the 

deposition of these records. Please note that all records and documents will be made available 

for review and scrutiny upon request for up to 5 years after the data were generated. 

Field notes- Field forms, notebooks or laptop computers will be utilized for recording results of 

field audits, quality control procedures, repairs or calibrations. Dates, times, field conditions, 

temperature, pressure and flow rates will be recorded. These will be archived along with the data 

generated by the field laptops by EPA, S/LT agencies personnel or their designee. 

Lab Notebooks- Notebooks will also be issued for the laboratory. These notebooks will be 

uniquely numbered and associated with the NATTS program. One notebook will be available 

for general comments/notes; others will be associated with, the temperature and humidity 

recording instruments, the refrigerator, calibration equipment/standards, and the analytical 

balances and instruments used for this program. UATMP Contractor and ORIA will both be 

generating laboratory data. Therefore, they must maintain all records for at least 5 years after the 

data are generated. 

Chain of Custody Forms- Original Chain of Custody forms must be retained by the S/L/T 

agencies or UATMP Contractor. 

Other Documents- All other documents must be stored according to their QAPP. 

Electronic data collection- In order to reduce the potential for data entry errors, automated 

systems will be utilized where appropriate and will record the same information that is found on 

data entry forms. In order to provide a back-up, a hardcopy of automated data collection 

information will be stored for the appropriate time frame in project files. 
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5.3.1 Annual Summary Reports: The annual reports will ensure that work performed by the 

agencies is accurately performed and that the statutory and contractual requirements are met. 

UATMP Contractor- UATMP Contractor shall submit to EPA-OAQPS an annual 

summary report of all the NATTS QA and UATMP data collected within that calendar 

year. The report will be submitted by April 1 of each year for the data collected from 

January 1 to December 31 of the previous year. The report will contain the following 

information: 

 < Agency Name, 

< Laboratory name (if different from the agency name) ; 

< PE samples submitted; 

< Results of the PE analysis; 

ORIA- ORIA shall submit to EPA-OAQPS an annual summary report of all the QA 

NATTS data collected within that calendar year. The report will be submitted by 

April 1 of each year for the data collected from January 1 to December 31 of the 

previous year. This report will include analysis of all PE samples and results of any 

MSRs or TSAs performed. 

OAQPS- OAQPS will summarize all of the QA data and submit the QA Annual Report 

for review and posting to the AMTIC website. 

 

5.3.2 Data Reporting Package/Archiving and Retrieval: All the information, electronic and 

written, will be retained for 5 years from the date that the data is generated unless otherwise 

noted in the funding agreement. However, if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit or other 

action involving the records has been started before the expiration of the 5-year period, the 

records will be retained until completion of the action and resolution of all issues which arise 

from it, or until the end of the regular 5-year period, whichever is later. For example, any data 

collected in calendar year 2003 (1/1/03 - 12/31/03) will be retained until, at a minimum, January 

1, 2008, unless the information is used for litigation purposes. 
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6.0 Computer Software and Hardware 

There is an increasing dependence upon computers and computer related hardware in the 

collection of environmental data. Indeed, most environmental programs within and outside of 

the EPA use computers extensively to collect, store, validate and analyze environmental data. 

This section will outline briefly what computer systems will be employed throughout the 

NATTS. This chapter will also describe the roles and responsibilities for system hardware and 

software. 

6.1 Computer System Descriptions

6.1.1 UATMP Contractor: The pre-sampling, post sampling data and sample run information 

will be housed in the UATMP Contractor database for the UATMP and PE data. For a 

description of the UATMP Contractor computer system, please see the UATMP Contractor 

QAPP. 

6.1.2 EPA-OAQPS: Once the data has been validated by S/L/T agency or UATMP Contractor 

and reviewed by the S/L/T agencies, the data will be delivered to the AQS database. The AQS 

database is now housed in a long term data storage facility located at the EPA Computer Center 

in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. 

6.1.3 ORIA: ORIA will have a database system that will house the QA sample information 

analyzed by ORIA. The QA database will be on Local Access Network (LAN) that is maintained 

by the ORIA computer group. 

6.1.4 Regional EPA Offices: The Regional EPA data will mostly consist of audit reports and 

TSA reports. As audit reports are written, they will be downloaded to a PC hardrive of the 

auditors. 

6.2 Roles and Responsibilities

6.2.1 EPA Systems: All EPA databases are governed by EPA directive 2100 including the Year 

2000 compliance, security and privacy requirements. Each of the EPA agencies have their own 

LAN (ORIA and OAQPS). These are password protected and maintained by the System 

Administrators (SA) for each agency. The EPA SA have the responsibility of ensuring that the 

computer hardware used for this program meets the technical requirements. These include: 

< quality expectations (i.e., configuration testing); 

< control to changes to hardware; 

< the SA follow their QMP for developing, validating, verifying software so that it meets EPA 

Directive 2182; 

< evaluate purchased software before it is utilized by EPA scientists; 
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< ensure that data and information produced by the EPA are collected and archived in a safe 

and secure manner. 

6.2.2 UATMP Contractor: The UATMP Contractor will utilize a Data Base Management 

System (DBMS). This system will be utilized by the UATMP Contractor to manage, store 

analyze the database as the data are collected. The final database will be tested and follow the 

guidelines set down by EPA Directive 2182. The UATMP Contractor will have a data base 

Technical Supervisor who is tasked to perform the following duties: 

< quality expectations (i.e., configuration testing); 

< control to changes to hardware; 

< follow their QAPP for developing, validating, verifying software so that it meets EPA 

Directive 2182; 

< evaluate purchased software before it is utilized by UATMP Contractor scientists; 

< ensure that data and information produced for the EPA are collected and archived in a safe 

and secure manner. 

6.2.3 State/Local/Tribal Agencies: Each S/L/T agency will be encouraged to create a DBMS 

for their agency. It is the responsibility of each agency to store their data in a secure fashion. 
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7.0 Planning 

This section will outline planning and implementation procedures that will be employed in the 

NATTS. This program has several diverse agencies that will be interacting at several levels. 

Therefore, to ensure that the work is being performed and that the quality of the data is 

acceptable, clear communication must be employed for this program. The following sections 

will outline how this will be accomplished. 

7.1 Project Goals and Objectives

As stated in Section 1, the NATTS is a component of the NATA. The programmatic objectives 

of the NATTS network are to track: 

< Track trends at ambient levels, which will facilitate tracking progress toward emission 

and risk reduction goals. This will help assess the effectiveness of emission reduction 

activities and this goal relates back to the GPRA goal identified above; 

< Evaluate and subsequently improve air toxics emission inventories; and 

< Evaluate and subsequently improve model performance and help to establish an ambient 

baseline for toxics risk characterization. 

It has been decided that air toxics data over a period of 6 or more years (as defined in the DQOs) 

would be sufficient for statistical analysis of the data. This data will be utilized as input to 

models and for development of emission control strategies and determination of their long-term 

effectiveness. Public health officials and epidemiological researchers will also use the data to 

test health based research. 

The ATSC meets annually to assess the progress of the NATA program. Milestones were set by 

the ATSC by which EPA would adhere. The following is a description of the milestones; 

1. First Year, Network Design and Objectives: During the first year, the EPA staff will 

focus its efforts on the design of the NATTS network. In 2002, the ATSC reviewed the 

objectives of the network and agreed upon the initial monitoring locations. Their 

recommendations have been given to EPA. 

2. Second Year, Implementation of the Initial Network: The focus will be on the writing 

the QAPPs, completion of the monitoring stations and sampler tests, completion of the 

sampling and analysis protocols, and start-up of the first 13 sampling sites. The PE 

samples will be sent to the laboratories, initial IPAs and TSAs will be performed by 

EPA Regions, ORIA and OAQPS. 

3. Third Year, Development of Expertise in Data Interpretation: The expertise for data 

interpretation lies with EPA, Research and S/L/T scientists. Since AT monitoring and 

analysis has been available for 15-20 years, many in the scientific community can reap 

the rewards of analysis. OAQPS currently has an annual air toxic workshop that is 

conducted in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This workshop will be the 
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appropriate venue to integrate the results of the NATTS into the rest of the AT 

community. 

7.2 Key Planning Personnel

7.2.1 Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group Leader: The group leader has the 

responsibility to make the final decision on the implementation of the program. He/she has the 

following responsibilities: 

< meet with the ATSC to review the progress of the program; 

< direct OAQPS personnel listed below; 

< review the progress of the program and assure that it is moving forward as recommended by 

 the expert panel. 

7.2.3 Program Manager: The program manager is the person who performs the following 

planning activities: 

< identify program schedules; 

< writes the level of effort proposals; 

< coordinate and adjourn the ATSC meetings; 

< coordinate and adjourn the QA/monitoring teleconferences; 

7.2.4 Quality Assurance Coordinator: The QAC is responsible for the QA planning for the 

program. He/she is responsible for: 

< overseeing the overall QA for the program; 

< making sure that proper QA is being performed; 

< meet with other QA members via meetings and tele-conferences 

7.3 Other Planning Activities 

The following activities will facilitate the success of the program. 

OAQPS must assure that each agency within the program receives the proper training, 

equipment, goods, services and technical knowledge to perform their duties. In addition, all 

parties must be made aware of events and deadlines. Part of this is clear communication 

amongst all agencies. The following methods will be used to impart information to ensure 

proper planning. 

7.3.1 Tele-communications: Tele-conferencing is an extremely useful tool to impart 

information and ensure that the planning process is moving forward. For the past 18 months, 

Ms. Sharon Nizich has led a tele-conference working group for the Air Toxics Pilot Program. 

The working group has consisted of OAQPS, Regional EPA and State and Local Agency staff. 

Ms. Nizich has guided this working group by informing the group concerning the development 
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of the NATTS samplers, discussion of the laboratory operations and the time lines of 

implementation of the program. 

7.3.2 Internet: EPA supports and maintains a web site on the Word Wide Web. Guidance 

documents, special announcements, newsletter and related documents are posted on the website. 

These documents can be downloaded from the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) areas of the web site. 

In addition, the EPA and all of the agencies involved in this program have electronic mail 

(email) capabilities, by which information can be transmitted and all affected parties can be 

informed of meetings and special events. Any persons interested in the program may find 

information at the following location: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/airtxfil.html. 

7.3.3 Data Analysis: Preliminary data analysis will be performed by the UATMP Contractor on 

UATMP data collected as described in their QAPP. However, it is OAQPS Trends Analysis 

Group will also review and analyze the data sets. Results and summaries will be presented a 

various seminars and technical workshops. 
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8.0 Implementation of Work 

Each organization involved in this program will develop a QAPP that will describe the process 

and work performed for their program. The S/L/T agencies’ QAPPs will be submitted to EPA 

Regional Offices, which will review, provide comments and finally approve their QAPPs. On 

the other hand, the UATMP Contractor’s and ORIA’s QAPPs will be submitted to OAQPS for 

review, comments and final approval. Since each agency/laboratory has developed their own 

QAPPs, ultimately each agency is responsible for the implementation of the program in their 

city, county, state or laboratory. This section will outline the individuals in each agency that will 

be required to implement the work. 

8.1 Implementation Roles

8.1.1 Program Manager: The program managers are responsible for overall work to be 

performed. These include: 

< ensuring that work is being performed according the agency QAPP; 

< development and implementation of procedures; 

< standardization of techniques; 

< development of special or “critical” techniques that might deviate from the normal good 

laboratory practices; 

8.1.2 Quality Assurance Managers: The QA managers oversee through internal TSAs and 

review of data that procedures are being followed as specified by the agency QAPP. In addition, 

the QA managers must also: 

< identify operations needing procedures; 

< help prepare the procedures by writing and revising the QAPP; 

< review and approve procedures before they are implemented; 

< provide new tools to the monitoring or laboratory staff that may enhance or increase the 

productivity of the operation; 

< control the release, change and use of planned procedures; 

< work with the program manager in approving changes to procedures; 

< revise the QAPP to remove obsolete techniques and keep up-to-date procedures available to 

field and laboratory staff; 

< verify that changes made in the field, through TSAs, as performed as prescribed in the 

QAPP. 

< if contract laboratories are used, then it is the QA managers responsibility that the contractor 

write a QAPP and SOPs that can be incorporated into the agency-submitted QAPP. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:9 

Revision No:2.1 

Date: 12/17/02 

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9. Data Quality Assessments

This section describes the quality-related activities necessary to support the NATTS operations 

and the associated data acquisition, validation, assessment, and reporting. 

Important benefits of regular DQAs include the opportunity to alert the management of data 

quality problems, to propose viable solutions to problems, and to procure necessary additional 

resources. Management should not rely entirely upon the MSRs and TSAs for their assessment 

of the data. The MSR and TSA only occur annually. Quality assessment, including the 

evaluation of the technical systems, the measurement of performance, and the assessment of data, 

is conducted to help insure that measurement results meet program objectives and to insure that 

necessary corrective actions are taken early, when they will be most effective. 

 

9.1 Program Assessment Techniques

Assessment is an all-inclusive term used to denote any of the following: TSAs, PEs, MSRs and 

data quality assessments (DQAs). Definitions for each of these activities can be found in the 

Glossary. Table 10.1 provides information on the parties implementing the assessment and their 

frequency. 

Table 9.1 Assessment Schedule

Agency Type of Assessment Agency Assessed Frequency 

ORIA TSA and PEs, round robin 

inter-laboratory samples 

UATMP Contractor Annually 

UATMP Contractor PEs S/L/T agencies Annually 

OAQPS-EMAD MSRs, TSAs UATMP Contractor, 

ORIA, EPA Regional 

and S/L/T agencies 

As needed by 

EMAD 

determination 

Regional Offices Network Reviews S/L/T agencies Once every 5 

years

Regional Offices TSAs and IPAs S/L/T agencies Annually * 

* Not all instruments in the program will be audited every year. It is estimated that 25% of the instruments will be 

audited annually. 

9.1.1 Technical System Audit: The results of the TSAs will be included in the QAAR reports 

that will be submitted to OAQPS. Other agencies will submit their reports to OAQPS as well. 

Information on how these will be conducted can be found in EPA QA/R- 5 document. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:9 

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9.1.2 Network Reviews: Network Reviews will be performed by EPA Regional staff on each 

State and Local Agency once every five years. The EPA Regional offices will be tasked to review 

the NATTS network at the same time as the criteria pollutant Network Review. The Regional 

offices will notify OAQPS of any anomalies in the network. 

9.1.3 Management System Review: Management System Review will be conducted by the 

EPA-EMAD- MQAG staff. UATMP Contractor and selected EPA Regional office will be 

reviewed annually. 

9.1.4 Data Quality Assessments: The EPA-EMAD-MQAG will produce a Data Quality 

Assessment report during the first year and every year thereafter. The data quality assessment 

will be an important part of the QAAR. The assessment will be performed using standard 

statistical tests to ascertain the uncertainty of the data. 

9. 2 Reports to Management

The ORIA and UATMP Contractor laboratories will submit assessments and reports performed 

by the organization, to OAQPS. The OAQPS QAC will annually compile the information, along 

with estimates of precision and variance (i.e., Data Quality Assessments) and publish an annual 

QA report. The QAARs will be placed on OAQPS’ Ambient Monitoring Technology 

Information Center (AMTIC) website for national distribution. 

9.3 Planning, Training and Authority 

The following sections will discuss process of planning, training and the authority of those whom 

will be performing assessments. 

9.3.1 Planning: The QMP is the first step towards having an effective planning process. This 

QMP outlines how assessors for this program will plan, schedule and implement assessments. At 

the beginning of the year, those who have been assigned to perform assessments will set out their 

tentative schedule for assessments. This schedule will first be submitted to management, who can 

modify the schedule. After management approval, the schedule is submitted in writing (or email) 

to the agencies that will be assessed. Usually, one month before the assessment, the agency to be 

assessed is notified by telephone of the exact dates and times. At this time, the assessment form 

(TSA or MSR forms) are submitted to the agency to be assessed(in writing or via email). This 

allows the agency the time to review the forms and gather the information needed to be presented 

to the assessors. This has a two-fold objective: notification of what will be required during the 

assessment, and will minimize the field efforts of the assessors. 

9.3.2 Training: Training is essential to assessors in two ways: the assessor needs to understand 

the process by which data are generated, without this knowledge the assessment may be 

inadequate, and in order to communicate clearly with the agency that is being assessed, the 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:9 

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Page 3 of 3 

assessor must be competent. Training fills these needs. A part of training that is not seen or 

documented is the fact that those chosen for assessment should have experience in the field in 

which they are assessing. Although most QA criteria and theory are universal, understanding the 

process by being experienced in working in that field is essential. Below is a list of assessment 

training that will be provided in this program. 

< OAQPS will continue to offer satellite courses on QA and QC, as well as programs that 

update the state and local agencies on the NATTS. 

< UATMP Contractor will continue to train operators of the UATMP samplers. 

 

9.3.3 Authority: All personnel that are chosen to conduct assessments to this program have the 

authority to do so through the EPA. OAQPS has the overall responsibility and authority over this 

program. It delegates this authority to perform assessments to all agencies that perform such 

duties. All personnel in this capacity have the right and responsibility to: 

< Identify problems; 

< Identify and cite noteworthy practices that may be shared with others to improve the quality 

of their operations; 

< Propose recommendations for resolving quality problems; 

< Independently confirm implementation and effectiveness of solutions; 

< Report these finding to the EPA Regional Offices or directly to OAQPS. 

Reports of assessments are discussed in section 10.2. 

9.3.4 Disputes: Occasionally, findings in an assessment report may be disputed by the agency 

assessed. Any disputes that are announced by an agency should first be handled by the Regional 

Offices. If this fails to satisfy the situation, then OAQPS has the final authority to make a 

decision concerning a dispute. In the case of assessments made by ORIA or the EPA Regional 

offices, OAQPS has the authority to discuss and satisfy disputes. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:.10 

Revision No:2.1 

Date: 12/17/02 

Page 1 of 3 

10.0 Quality Improvement

This section will outline planning and implementation procedures that will be employed for 

improving the quality of the program. All agencies participating in the NATTS have the 

responsibility to improve the quality of the program over an unspecified period of time. There 

can be no set dates on when this improvement can or will occur, however, all agencies will make 

every effort to improve the system over a period of many years. The following figures illustrates 

the quality improvement process that OAQPS will institute for this program. 

Figure 10.1 Data Improvement Flow Diagram

Assessment

Assessment

Report

Agency Response

Final Assessment

Report

Review, 

Compilation and 

Analysis

QAAR

Data 

Improvement 

 Cycle
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:.10 

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10.1 Quality Improvement Process Flow 

This section will outline the process flow of the quality improvement paradigm . Please refer to 

figure 10.1. 

10.1.1 Assessment: The assessments that are planned for the NATTS are detailed in section 9 of 

this QMP. Once the assessment agency has completed the assessment, a report will be sent to the 

assessed agency. 

10.1.2 Assessment Report: The assessment report will state the who, what, where and when of 

the assessment. The report will highlight the findings of the assessment and allow the assessed 

agency the ability to respond to all assessment findings (usually 45 days). 

10.1.3 Response: The assessed agency has the right to respond in writing, or email. All 

responses will be reviewed by the assessment agency and will respond in kind. If any disputes 

arise from the assessment, this will be resolved as detailed in section 9.3.4 of this QMP. In 

addition, the EPA and all of the agencies involved in this program have electronic mail (email) 

capabilities, by which information can be transmitted and all affected parties can be informed of 

meetings and tele-conferences. 

10.1.4 Final Assessment Report: The final assessment report will be sent to OAQPS and the 

assessed agency. This report will highlight the findings of the assessment and recommendations. 

10.1.5 Review, Compilation and Analysis: Once OAQPS has received the final assessment 

reports, the agency will review the findings, compile the information and analyze the data. Any 

disputes concerning the assessments will be finalized at that time. 

 

10.1.6 QAAR: The OAQPS QAAR will be the final report for a given calendar year. This report, 

created by OAQPS, will highlight the major findings of the assessment and recommendations will 

be made in this report. This report will then be sent to all Regional Offices, UATMP Contractor, 

the S/L/T agencies participating in the NATTS and ORIA. In addition, the report will be posted 

on the AMTIC website. Any other parties that wish to obtain this report must contact the person 

listed in the forward of this QMP. Regional offices will be required to forward this report to the 

state and local agencies. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Element No:.10 

Revision No:2.1 

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10.2 Quality Improvement Assurance

The QAAR and the assessment reports will ensure that quality will continually improve by 

allowing the assessed agencies the ability to participate, review and have input into the final 

reports. Once the assessment reports are issued, the assessment agencies will note where 

improvement needs to be addressed. When the next assessment is performed, the previous 

deficiency will be noted and brought to the assessed agency’s attention. At that time, the assessed 

agency must provide proof that the previous years assessment deficiencies were addressed 

between the assessments. Any deficiencies that were not addressed will be documented in the 

next assessment report. Deficiencies that are not addressed over a one year period will be noted 

by OAQPS. OAQPS will request that the Regional Offices contact the management of the 

assessed agency and take action as needed. This assures that OAQPS management will have 

resolution to deficiencies and that these deficiencies do not remain un-addressed. This above 

mentioned process will allow OAQPS and all stakeholders the ability to evaluate planning, 

implementation of programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of the program. 

In the case of action items that threaten the quality of the data, the assessment team will identify 

who (organizationally) is responsible for improvements. If immediate action is needed, EPAOAQPS gives the authority to the assessment agency to follow-up (within two weeks) to ensure 

that corrective action are taken and adverse conditions to quality are remedied as soon as practical 

Staff members at all agencies are encouraged to identify and establish communications between 

all agencies. This includes S/L/T agencies to OAQPS and from any assessment agency to the 

S/L/T agencies. Staff members are encouraged to bring any improvements to the assessment 

agencies during the assessments and to discuss the most practical and cost effective remedies for 

any problem. 

 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Glossary 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

Page 1 of 4 

GLOSSARY OF QUALITY ASSURANCE AND RELATED TERMS

Activity — An all-inclusive term describing a specific set of operations of related tasks to be performed, 

either serially or in parallel (e.g., research and development, field sampling, analytical operations, 

equipment fabrication), that, in total, result in a product or service. 

 

Assessment — The evaluation process used to measure the performance or effectiveness of a system and 

its elements. As used here, assessment is an all-inclusive term used to denote any of the following: audit, 

performance evaluation (PE), management systems review (MSR), peer review, inspection, or 

surveillance. 

Audit (quality) — A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and 

related results comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented 

effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives. 

Audit of Data Quality (ADQ) — A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the documentation and 

procedures associated with environmental measurements to verify that the resulting data are of acceptable 

quality. 

Authenticate — The act of establishing an item as genuine, valid, or authoritative. 

 

Collocated samples — Two or more portions collected at the same point in time and space so as to be 

considered identical. These samples are also known as field replicates and should be identified as such. 

Computer program — A sequence of instructions suitable for processing by a computer. Processing may 

include the use of an assembler, a compiler, an interpreter, or a translator to prepare the program for 

execution. A computer program may be stored on magnetic media and referred to as “software,” or it may 

be stored permanently on computer chips, referred to as “firmware.” Computer programs covered in a 

QAPP are those used for design analysis, data acquisition, data reduction, data storage (databases), 

operation or control, and database or document control registers when used as the controlled source of 

quality information. 

Configuration — The functional, physical, and procedural characteristics of an item, experiment, or 

document. 

Corrective action — Any measures taken to rectify conditions adverse to quality and, where possible, to 

preclude their recurrence. 

Data Quality Assessment (DQA) — The scientific and statistical evaluation of data to determine if data 

obtained from environmental operations are of the right type, quality, and quantity to support their 

intended use. The five steps of the DQA Process include: 1) reviewing the DQOs and sampling design, 2) 

conducting a preliminary data review, 3) selecting the statistical test, 4) verifying the assumptions of the 

statistical test, and 5) drawing conclusions from the data. 

Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) — The qualitative and quantitative statements derived from the DQO 

Process that clarify study’s technical and quality objectives, define the appropriate type of data, and 

specify tolerable levels of potential decision errors that will be used as the basis for establishing the quality 

and quantity of data needed to support decisions. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Glossary 

Revision No:1.0 

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Data reduction — The process of transforming the number of data items by arithmetic or statistical 

calculations, standard curves, and concentration factors, and collating them into a more useful form. Data 

reduction is irreversible and generally results in a reduced data set and an associated loss of detail. 

 

Design — The specifications, drawings, design criteria, and performance requirements. Also, the result of 

deliberate planning, analysis, mathematical manipulations, and design processes. 

 

Document — Any written or pictorial information describing, defining, specifying, reporting, or certifying 

activities, requirements, procedures, or results. 

Document control — The policies and procedures used by an organization to ensure that its documents 

and their revisions are proposed, reviewed, approved for release, inventoried, distributed, archived, stored, 

and retrieved in accordance with the organization’s requirements. 

 

Environmental data — Any parameters or pieces of information collected or produced from 

measurements, analyses, or models of environmental processes, conditions, and effects of pollutants on 

human health and the ecology, including results from laboratory analyses or from experimental systems 

representing such processes and conditions. 

Financial assistance — The process by which funds are provided by one organization (usually 

governmental) to another organization for the purpose of performing work or furnishing services or items. 

Financial assistance mechanisms include grants, cooperative agreements, and governmental interagency 

agreements. 

Finding — An assessment conclusion that identifies a condition having a significant effect on an item or 

activity. An assessment finding may be positive or negative, and is normally accompanied by specific 

examples of the observed condition. 

Independent assessment — An assessment performed by a qualified individual, group, or organization 

that is not a part of the organization directly performing and accountable for the work being assessed. 

Inspection — The examination or measurement of an item or activity to verify conformance to specific 

requirements. 

 

Management — Those individuals directly responsible and accountable for planning, implementing, and 

assessing work. 

Management system — A structured, non-technical system describing the policies, objectives, principles, 

organizational authority, responsibilities, accountability, and implementation plan of an organization for 

conducting work and producing items and services. 

Management Systems Review (MSR) — The qualitative assessment of a data collection operation and/or 

organization(s) to establish whether the prevailing quality management structure, policies, practices, and 

procedures are adequate for ensuring that the type and quality of data needed are obtained. 

 

Organization — A company, corporation, firm, enterprise, or institution, or part thereof, whether 

incorporated or not, public or private, that has its own functions and administration. 

Organization structure — The responsibilities, authorities, and relationships, arranged in a pattern, 

through which an organization performs its functions. 

 

Procedure — A specified way to perform an activity. 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Glossary 

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Process — A set of interrelated resources and activities that transforms inputs into outputs. Examples of 

processes include analysis, design, data collection, operation, fabrication, and calculation. 

Project — An organized set of activities within a program. 

 

Quality — The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to 

meet the stated or implied needs and expectations of the user. 

Quality Assurance (QA) — An integrated system of management activities involving planning, 

implementation, assessment, reporting, and quality improvement to ensure that a process, item, or service 

is of the type and quality needed and expected by the client. 

 

Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) — A formal document describing in comprehensive detail the 

necessary quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and other technical activities that must be 

implemented to ensure that the results of the work performed will satisfy the stated performance criteria. 

The QAPP components are divided into four classes: 1) Project Management, 2) Measurement/Data 

Acquisition, 3) Assessment/Oversight, and 4) Data Validation and Usability. Guidance and requirements 

on preparation of QAPPs can be found in EPA QA/R-5 and QA/G-5. 

Quality Control (QC) — The overall system of technical activities that measures the attributes and 

performance of a process, item, or service against defined standards to verify that they meet the stated 

requirements established by the customer; operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfill 

requirements for quality. The system of activities and checks used to ensure that measurement systems are 

maintained within prescribed limits, providing protection against “out of control” conditions and ensuring 

the results are of acceptable quality. 

 

Quality improvement — A management program for improving the quality of operations. Such 

management programs generally entail a formal mechanism for encouraging worker recommendations 

with timely management evaluation and feedback or implementation. 

Quality management — That aspect of the overall management system of the organization that 

determines and implements the quality policy. Quality management includes strategic planning, allocation 

of resources, and other systematic activities (e.g., planning, implementation, and assessment) pertaining to 

the quality system. 

Quality Management Plan (QMP) — A formal document that describes the quality system in terms of 

the organization’s structure, the functional responsibilities of management and staff, the lines of authority, 

and the required interfaces for those planning, implementing, and assessing all activities conducted. 

Quality system — A structured and documented management system describing the policies, objectives, 

principles, organizational authority, responsibilities, accountability, and implementation plan of an 

organization for ensuring quality in its work processes, products (items), and services. The quality system 

provides the framework for planning, implementing, and assessing work performed by the organization 

and for carrying out required quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). 

 

Requirement — A formal statement of a need and the expected manner in which it is to be met. 

Round-robin study — A method validation study involving a predetermined number of laboratories or 

analysts, all analyzing the same sample(s) by the same method. In a round-robin study, all results are 

compared and used to develop summary statistics such as inter-laboratory precision and method bias or 

recovery efficiency. 
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Glossary 

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Self-assessment — The assessments of work conducted by individuals, groups, or organizations directly 

responsible for overseeing and/or performing the work. 

 

Specification — A document stating requirements and referring to or including drawings or other relevant 

documents. Specifications should indicate the means and criteria for determining conformance. 

 

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) — A written document that details the method for an operation, 

analysis, or action with thoroughly prescribed techniques and steps and that is officially approved as the 

method for performing certain routine or repetitive tasks. 

Technical review — A documented critical review of work that has been performed within the state of the 

art. The review is accomplished by one or more qualified reviewers who are independent of those who 

performed the work but are collectively equivalent in technical expertise to those who performed the 

original work. The review is an in-depth analysis and evaluation of documents, activities, material, data, 

or items that require technical verification or validation for applicability, correctness, adequacy, 

completeness, and assurance that established requirements have been satisfied. 

Technical Systems Audit (TSA) — A thorough, systematic, on-site qualitative audit of facilities, 

equipment, personnel, training, procedures, record keeping, data validation, data management, and 

reporting aspects of a system. 

Vendor — Any individual or organization furnishing items or services or performing work according to a 

procurement document or a financial assistance agreement. An all-inclusive term used in place of any of 

the following: seller, contractor, subcontractor, fabricator, or consultant.

 

Verification — Confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that specified 

requirements have been fulfilled. In design and development, verification concerns the process of 

examining a result of a given activity to determine conformance to the stated requirements for that activity. 

 

 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Contact List 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

Contact List 

The following list is a compilation of contacts for the NATTS Program. 

Contact Agency Phone Number Email 

 Rich Scheffe OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG 919-541-4650 scheffe.rich@epa.gov 

Dennis Mikel OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG 919-541-5511 mikel.dennisk@epa.gov 

Joann Rice OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG 919-541-3372 rice.joann@epa.gov 

Sharon Nizich OAQPS-EMAD-MQAG 919-541-2825 nizich.sharon@epa.gov 

Michael Clark NAREL 334-270-7069 clark.michael@epa.gov 

Vickie Presnell OAQPS-EMAD 919-541-7620 presnell.vickie@epa.gov 

Emilio Braganza R&IEL 702-79802430 braganza.emilio@epa.gov 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Contact List 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

Draft Memo to Air Toxics Monitoring Steering Committee 

Proposed FY2002 Trends Sites 

Updated August 7, 2002

The purpose of this memo is to propose a list of candidate trends sites, which constitute the initial 

roll-out of the national air toxics monitoring network. This list was developed by a subcommittee 

of the Steering Committee (Mike Gilroy, Rich Scheffe, and Mike Koerber), with input from Steve 

Bortnick, Sharon Nizich, and Dennis Mikel. Please note that the list is a subset of the larger table 

of candidate sites prepared by Battelle (copy attached). 

Background

The draft FY02 grant guidance provides $80,000 for the establishment and operation (for the first 

12 months) of at least 10 (and, hopefully, as many as 20) initial trends sites. Based on a 

preliminary analysis by our data analysis contractor (Battelle) - see “Trends Straw Plan: 

Conceptual Framework for Network Design and Trends Estimation” (January 31, 2002) - the 

proposed allocation of these 10 - 20 trends sites is as follows: 

C First 10 sites: one urban site in each of the 10 EPA regions; 

C Second 6 sites: one rural site each in EPA regions 1/2, 3/4, 5, 6, 7/8, 9/10 

C Final 4 sites: an additional urban site in EPA regions 2, 9, 5, and 4 (in that order) 

Proposed Sites

The proposed list of the first 10 urban sites is provided below. Please note that it is assumed that 

the appropriate state/local agencies are willing to conduct this monitoring and if needed, then 

move equipment to the site if it is not complete already with toxics monitoring and PM2.5-

speciation equipment. 

The sites labeled “1a” and “1b” are backup sites if the proposed number 1 site does not want to 

participate. 

The sites labeled “2a” and “2b” are proposed additional trends sites that could be added if more 

funds become available beyond the first 10 urban sites. 

Region Priority Site id/location Comments 

I 1 East Providence RI44-007-1010 Begins Jan 2003

 1a Boston, MA25-025-0042 Have plans for carbonyl sampling and 

purchase of aetholemeter - good 

variation of NATA source 

contributions relative to the RI site. 

Begins Jan 2003
Project: NATTS QMP 

Appendix A 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

II 1 New York City36-005-0083 Includes PAMS and speciationultimately will be a trends site 

Begins Jan 2003 (Queens)

 1a Elizabeth, NJ34-039-0004 Can give us more information on site 

differences- contributions will be 

different than NY’s. 

 2 Rochester NY36-055-6001 Additional site if we get more funds 

for trends sites. 

III 1 Essex, MD24-005-3001 Assumption that equipment is all 

there - toxics sampling will have to 

begin with these funds we’re 

distributing. 

 1a Washington DC11-001-0043 Begins Jan 2003

 1b Pittsburgh, PA42-003-0008 Additional site if we get more funds 

for trends sites, unique sources -may 

give some us some interesting data 

IV 1 Decatur, GA13-089-0002 All equipment there - will need to 

begin toxics sampling with these 

funds. 

Begins Jan 2003

 2a Tampa, FL12-057-1075 Already a pilot trends site and 

includes speciation equipment. 

Backup if Decatur doesn’t want to 

participate.. 

V 1 Allen Park, MI26-163-0001 Already a pilot trends site and 

includes speciation equipment. 

Begins Jan 2003

 2a Minneapolis, MN27-053-0960 Additional site if we get more funds 

for trends sites. 

 2b Indianapolis, IN18-097-0078 Back-up if MN does not want to 

participate. 

VI 1 Deer Park, TX48-201-1039 Former super site - will need to move 

toxics equipment to site 

Begins Jan 2003

 1a Dallas TX48-113-0069 Backup if Deer Park (Houston) does 

not want to participate 

VII 1 St. Louis, MO29-510-0089 Will need to move toxics sampling 

equipment to site 

Begins Jan 2003
Project: NATTS QMP 

Appendix A 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

 1a Cedar Rapids, IA19-113-0037 Backup if St. Louis does not want to 

participate 

VIII 1 Bountiful UT Will need to move toxics equipment 

to site, already has speciation 

equipment 

Begins Jan 2003

 1a Grand Junction CO Backup if Salt Lake City does not 

want to participate 

RURAL SITE - Begins Jan 2003

IX 1 Rubidoux, CA06-065-8001 Has all equipment -will need to begin 

toxics sampling with these funds. 

 2a San Jose CA06-085-0004 Has all equipment- backup if 

Rubidoux does not want to participate 

Begins Jan 2003

 2b Phoenix, AZ04-013-9997 Unique inland city - will need to 

move toxics equipment to site. 

Additional site if we get more funds 

for trends sites. 

X 1 Seattle, WA53-033-0080 Current Pilot trends site and has a 

speciation sampler 

Begins Jan 2003

 1a Portland, OR41-051-0246 Preferred second urban site- very 

flexible about moving monitors 

RURAL 

CHOICES 

1,2 combo Chittenden 

County,VT-(Proctor 

Maple Research 

Center -Champlain 

Valley 

50-007-0007 

Has all equipment- IMPROVE site 

CHOICE FOR FY2003 

3,4 combo Hazard, KY (SE part 

of State21-193-0003 

Begins Jan 2003

 1a Lawrence County, AL IMPROVE site- need regional input 

 1b Murray County, GA IMPROVE site- need regional input - 

logistical and equipment issues 

5 Dodge City, WI, near 

Mayville55-027-0007 

Need regional input 
Project: NATTS QMP 

Appendix A 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

 1a Missaukee City, MI 

(upper MI, not in a 

city)- 

26-113-0001 

Has all equipment in place. 

6 Harrison Cnty, TXLongview/Marshall 

MSA48-203-0002 

Need regional input 

 1a Polk County, AR IMPROVE site- Need Regional input 

 1b Tillman County, OK IMPROVE site -Need Regional input 

7,8 combo 1 Durango, CO08-067-0008 Need Regional input 

 1a Flathead City30-029 GLAC 

Need Regional input - other 

IMPROVE sites to consider? 

 1b Sanders City, MT 

30-089 CABI 

Need Regional input- other 

IMPROVE sites to consider? 

9,10 combo 1 Siskiyou City, CA06-093 LABE Need Regional input 

 1a Del Norte, CA - 

06-015 REDW 

Need Regional input 

 1b Bend OR41-017-0120 Chosen for fy2003
Project: NATTS QMP 

Appendix A 

Revision No:1.0 

Date: 12/17/02 

 

TECHNICAL REPORT DATA

(Please read Instructions on reverse before completing)

1. REPORT NO.

 EPA-454/R02-006 

2. 3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. REPORT DATE 12/02 

Quality Management Plan for the National Air 

Toxics Trends Stations Monitoring Program 6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE

7. AUTHOR(S) Dennis Mikel 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

 Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

 Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 

11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.

 

12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS 13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED

 Director 

 Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

 Office of Air and Radiation 

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

 Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 

14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE

EPA/200/04 

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT

The Quality Management Plan for the National Air Toxics Trends Stations details the 

management structure National Air Toxics Trends Monitoring Program. The guidance 

document gives details on which organizations will be involved with the national 

program. It details the responsibilities and rights of each organization that will be 

involved in the national trends network. It also discusses the data management and 

storage of the long term data. An important discussion point is the Quality Assurance 

Assessment and Improvement System. 

. KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

a. DESCRIPTORS b. IDENTIFIERS/OPEN 

ENDED TERMS

c. COSATI Field/Group

Air Quality Monitoring 

Quality Assurance 

Air Pollution 

Control 

19. SECURITY 

CLASS (Report)

 Unclassified 

18. DISTRIBUTION 21. NO. OF PAGES 64 

STATEMENT 

 Release Unlimited 

20. SECURITY 

CLASS (Page)

 Unclassified 

22. PRICE