SW-846 Update V DISCLAIMER – 1 Revision 1

October 2012 DISCLAIMER

**The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office o f Solid Waste (EPA or the Agency) has**  **compiled this methods manual in order to provide co mprehensive guidance to analysts, data users, and**  **other interested parties regarding test methods tha t may be employed for the evaluation of solid waste**  **and other testing specified in regulations issued u nder the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act**  **(RCRA). Except where explicitly specified in a regu lation, the use of SW-846 methods is not**  **mandatory in response to Federal testing requirements.** 

**The Agency does not intend to restrict the use of n ew analytical techniques. Advances in**  **technologies applicable to the sampling and analysi s of environmental media and hazardous wastes**  **outpace the ability of the Agency to promulgate rev isions to this manual. In addition, given the larg**  **e number of manufacturers and vendors of scientific e**  **quipment, glassware, reagents, and supplies, it is not**  **feasible to cite all possible sources for these mat erials. Thus, the mention of trade names or commer**  **cial products in this manual is for illustrative purpose**  **s only, and does not constitute an endorsement or exclusive recommendation for use by EPA. The produ**  **cts and instrument settings cited in SW-846 methods represent those products and settings used**  **during method development or subsequently evaluated by the Agency. Glassware, reagents, supp**  **lies, equipment, and settings other than those listed in this manual may be employed provided that**  **method performance appropriate for the intended RCRA application has been documented as described i**  **n Chapter Two (see Sec. 2.1).**

**EPA generally does not intend these methods to be overly prescriptive. Th**  **e words "shall," "must," or "require" are used to indicate aspects of the me**  **thod that are considered essential to its performan ce,**  **based on sound analytical practices (e.g., an instr ument must be calibrated before use). In contrast,**  **the words "should," "may," or "recommend" are used to p**  **rovide guidance on aspects of the method that are useful but not essential. This flexibility does no**  **t apply to those method-defined parameters where the**  **analytical result is wholly dependent on the proces s used to make the measurement.** 

**EPA emphasizes that the ultimate responsibility for producing reliable analytical results lies with**  **the entity subject to the Federal, State, or local regulation. Thus, members of the regulated communi**  **ty are advised to refer to the information in Chapter**  **Two and to consult with knowledgeable laboratory personnel when choosing the most appropriate suite**  **of analytical methods. The regulated community is**

**further advised that the methods here or from other sources need only be used for those specific analy**  **tes of concern that are subject to regulation or other**  **monitoring requirements.**

**Many of the methods include performance data that a re intended as guidance on the performance**  **that may be achieved in typical matrices and may be used by the analyst to select the appropriate meth**  **od for the intended application. These performance da**  **ta are not intended to be used as absolute QC**  **acceptance criteria. Rather, each laboratory shoul d develop performance criteria as described in**  **Chapter Two and elsewhere in the manual.**

**In summary, the methods included here provide guida nce to the analyst and the regulated**  **community in making judgments necessary to generate data that meet the data quality objectives for the** 

**intended use of the results.**