1

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Forensic Laboratory 

Standards for Prevention, 

Monitoring, and Mitigation 

of DNA Contamination

Biological Methods Subcommittee

Biology/DNA Scientific Area Committee

Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science
2

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

OSAC Proposed Standard

Forensic Laboratory Standards for 

Prevention, Monitoring, and Mitigation of 

DNA Contamination

Prepared by 

Biological Methods Subcommittee

Version: 1.0

Disclaimer:

This document has been developed by the Biological Methods Subcommittee of the Organization of 

Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science through a consensus process and is proposed

for further development through a Standard Developing Organization (SDO). This document is being 

made available so that the forensic science community and interested parties can consider the 

recommendations of the OSAC pertaining to applicable forensic science practices. The document was 

developed with input from experts in a broad array of forensic science disciplines as well as scientific 

research, measurement science, statistics, law, and policy. 

This document has not been published by an SDO. Its contents are subject to change during the standards 

development process. All interested groups or individuals are strongly encouraged to submit comments on 

this proposed document during the open comment period administered by the Academy Standards Board

(www.asbstandardsboard.org). 
3

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Foreword: This standard was revised, prepared and finalized as a standard by the DNA 

Consensus Body of the AAFS Standards Board (ASB). The Biological Methods Subcommittee of the 

Organization of Scientific Area Committees developed the initial draft document.

All hyperlinks and web addresses shown in this document are current as of the publication date of 

this standard.

Keywords: Forensic DNA contamination, elimination database
4

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Table of Contents

1 Scope......................................................................................................................................................................................5

2 Normative References ....................................................................................................................................................5

3 Terms and Definitions ....................................................................................................................................................5

4 Requirements.....................................................................................................................................................................6

4.1 Physical Requirements for Laboratory Areas, Evidence Processing, Reagents,

Consumables and Personal Protective Equipment.....................................................................................6

4.2 Procedural Requirements......................................................................................................................................7

4.3 Personnel and Training Requirements ............................................................................................................9

4.4 Requirements Specific to Use of Rapid DNA Instruments and Consumables in a

Laboratory...................................................................................................................................................................9

Annex A (informative) Bibliography............................................................................................................................10

Annex B (normative) Requirements – Supporting Information.......................................................................12
5

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

1 Scope

This standard covers aspects of limiting, detecting, assessing the source of, and mitigating DNA 

contamination as applied to forensic and DNA database STR analysis via capillary electrophoresis 

and Rapid DNA analysis conducted in a laboratory. This standard does not cover methods of STR 

analysis specific to low-copy DNA samples or use of Rapid instrumentation outside of a laboratory 

environment.

2 Normative References

No applicable normative references.

3 Terms and Definitions

3.1. Contamination Exogenous DNA (deposited from the point of collection onwards) or 

other biological material in a DNA sample, PCR reaction, or item of evidence; extraneous 

DNA or biological material introduced during collection or testing of the sample.

3.2. Controls Samples of known types (positive and negative), run in parallel with 

experimental, reference, or evidence samples that are used to demonstrate that a 

procedure is working correctly.

3.3. Developmental Validation The acquisition of test data and determination of 

conditions and limitations of a new methodology; this generally occurs while the 

conditions and parameters are being worked out prior to the establishment of a defined 

assay, procedure, or product. Internal validation studies typically follow developmental 

validation studies. See internal validation.

3.4. Elimination Database A collection of DNA profiles held in a searchable format from 

individuals whose access, role, and/or activities are deemed a potential DNA 

contamination risk. Also included are possible contamination profiles recognized by the 

laboratory. The profiles, known as contamination elimination profiles, are used to 

detect instances of contamination.

3.5. Internal Validation The accumulation of test data within the laboratory for 

developing the laboratory standard operating procedures and demonstrating that the 

established protocols for the technical steps of the test and for data interpretation 

perform as expected in the laboratory.

3.6. Rapid DNA Analysis The fully automated (hands-free) process of developing an STR

profile from a known reference sample. The “swab in – profile out” process consists of
6

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

automated extraction, amplification, separation, detection and allele calling without 

human intervention. A modified Rapid DNA analysis requires human interpretation 

and technical review.

3.7. Tolerance Level A contamination tolerance is the level of detection at or below which 

contamination does not interfere with a confident interpretation of the data.

4 Requirements

4.1. Physical Requirements for Laboratory Areas, Evidence Processing, Reagents, 

Consumables, Storage, and Personal Protective Equipment

4.1.1. Access to laboratory areas shall be restricted to individuals actively focused on 

laboratory procedures to reduce the risk of introducing extraneous DNA into 

work areas and samples.

4.1.2. The laboratory shall have separate work areas with dedicated equipment and 

supplies for pre- and post-PCR activities to reduce the risk of introducing 

amplified DNA into samples.

4.1.2.1. Separation of pre-and post-PCR areas shall be accomplished in part by 

the use of physical barriers (this includes floor-to-ceiling walls and 

closed doors).

4.1.2.2. Equipment, tools, and supplies dedicated to post-amplification areas 

shall not be moved outside the post-amplification area without first 

being cleaned/decontaminated. Such treatment will be appropriate to 

the items being moved.

4.1.2.3. Separate personal protective equipment will be dedicated to pre- and 

post-amplification areas.

4.1.3. Evidence shall be stored in pre-PCR areas separate from reagents, consumables 

and work products.

4.1.3.1. Evidence items and samples shall be packaged and manipulated in a 

manner to minimize unwanted transfer of biological material.

4.1.4. Separate storage areas shall exist for reagents and consumables, DNA extracts, 

and PCR product (see also annex B1).

4.1.4.1. DNA extracts shall be stored in pre-PCRareas.

4.1.4.2. PCR products shall be stored in post-PCRareas.

4.1.5. The laboratory shall have and follow a written, regularly scheduled, cleaning
7

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

procedure to include lab areas, items to be cleaned, and the frequency of 

cleaning.

4.1.5.1. Laboratory work area surfaces and furnishings shall be able to 

withstand frequent cleaning and/or decontamination, e.g.bleaching.

4.1.5.2. Cleaning agents known to destroy DNA shall be used as appropriate to 

the items/surfaces being cleaned.

4.1.6. When purchasing amplification kits and the option exists, the laboratory shall 

procure them from an ISO 18385 compliant manufacturer. Other reagents and 

consumables shall be of a grade suitable for PCR applications.

Note: In addition to kit manufacturing precautions, the laboratory should 

institute procedures to minimize the possibility of contamination for other 

reagents and consumables. These procedures may include UV irradiation, 

ethylene oxide treatments, autoclaving, etc.

4.1.7. The laboratory shall have a system to track lot numbers of pre-amplification 

reagents and consumables involved in a potential contamination event.

4.2. Procedural Requirements

4.2.1. The laboratory shall define and use appropriate cleaning procedures for each 

method/technology/laboratory area.

4.2.2. The laboratory shall have procedures and policies on the proper disposal of 

post-PCR waste.

4.2.2.1. Post-PCR waste shall not be stored in pre-PCR spaces.

4.2.2.2. Post-PCR waste shall not be transported through pre-PCR areas 

without adequate precautions (i.e. double bagging).

4.2.3. The laboratory shall have procedures and policies defined to reduce potential 

contamination events during evidence and sample processing that include the 

following:

4.2.3.1. Use of personal protective equipment.

4.2.3.2. Handling and packaging of samples/evidence to limit the possibility of 

contamination.

4.2.3.3. Quality checks of extraction and PCR reagents conducted prior to use 

in testing to monitor for contamination (i.e. checks of positive and 

negative controls for new lots prior to use in testing).

4.2.3.4. Cleaning procedures specific to tools and instruments (as indicated by 

validation and experience).
8

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

4.2.4. The laboratory shall assess the occurrence of contamination and its possibility 

when conducting a validation project (internal or developmental) and 

determine the extent of decontamination/cleaning necessary for reagents, 

consumables, surfaces, tools, and equipment, etc. to produce acceptable genetic 

data.

4.2.5. The laboratory shall establish a contamination tolerance level for each 

procedure/technology used. Tolerance levels shall be based on internal 

validation and be reassessed as applicable when a method /technology is 

modified (see Annex B).

4.2.6. The laboratory shall have procedures to detect contamination.

4.2.6.1. The laboratory shall use appropriate controls to monitor/detect 

contamination.

4.2.7. Procedures shall provide guidance on steps undertaken when contamination 

tolerances are exceeded.

4.2.8. Contamination events shall be investigated (see Annex B).

4.2.8.1. Guidance will also cover steps taken when a reagent, consumable, or 

critical instrument has been contaminated

4.2.9. The laboratory shall maintain and use a contamination elimination database to 

aid in identification of profiles not consistent with provided referencesamples.

4.2.9.1. At a minimum, this database shall include biology staff and positive 

control samples. To the extent possible, typing shall use the same 

genetic markers/amplification test kit(s) utilized by the laboratory 

(see Annex B).

4.2.9.2. Confidentiality of DNA profiles within the elimination database shall 

follow applicable laws and regulations.

4.2.10. Contamination elimination profiles shall be added in a timely manner.

4.2.11. The laboratory shall conduct contamination and cross-contamination checks, 

and batch comparisons when profiles inconsistent with reference profiles are 

obtained, or when no reference samples are available. During a contamination 

event investigation, intra-batch comparisons should be undertaken as 

appropriate.

4.2.12. Records of contamination events shall be maintained in a centralized manner 

that allows such events to be tracked across cases, batches, and over time(see
9

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Annex B).

4.2.13. The laboratory shall have procedures to address contamination events, and to 

document such events within appropriate test/case records (see AnnexB).

4.2.14. The laboratory shall have and follow protocols for reporting and 

communicating contaminated results (those results outside of protocol 

tolerances). It is imperative that the customer be alerted to situations where 

contamination has or may have affected results (see Annex B).

4.3. Personnel and Training Requirements

4.3.1. Personnel defined by the laboratory shall receive documented practical 

training on those aspects of the laboratory’s protocol covering the detection 

and minimization of contamination. Competency can be assessed based on 

satisfactory processing of forensic-type samples.

4.3.2. The laboratory shall have and follow a training policy covering the use of 

personal protective equipment, evidence/sample handling and packaging, 

cleaning/decontamination protocols, and quality control measures used to 

detect and minimize contamination.

4.4. Requirements Specific to Use of Rapid DNA Instruments and Consumables in a 

Laboratory

4.4.1. Rapid DNA instrumentation shall be maintained in a pre-amplificationroom.

4.4.2. Rapid DNA consumables shall be monitored for extraneous DNA through a 

positive and negative control conducted with each received lot of reagents.

4.4.3. Personal protective equipment shall be worn while engaging in testing and use 

of Rapid DNA instrumentation.

4.4.4. Lot numbers for Rapid DNA consumables will be recorded and monitored.
10

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Annex A

(informative)

Bibliography

The following information provides a limited list of literature resources related to DNA 

contamination prevention, monitoring, and mitigation. This list is not meant to be all-inclusive.1 

The laboratory shall develop a list tailored to its specific needs. Updated references shall be added 

to the laboratory’s list as needed.

1] AABB, Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories

2] ENFSI, Contamination prevention guidelines. Issue No 001, issue date: November 2010

3] FBI, Quality Assurance Standards for DNA Databasing Laboratories, effective September 1, 2011. It 

is available at https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/quality-assurance-standards-for-dnadatabasing-laboratories.pdf/view. Accessed on August 13, 2019.

4] FBI, Quality Assurance Standards for DNA Databasing Laboratories, effective July 1, 2020. It is 

available at https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/4344b0_809d01b3e9f9451cb9edd9a85f2c2e5b.pdf

Accessed on August 13, 2019.

5] FBI, Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories (QAS), effective 

September 11, 2011. It is available at https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/quality-assurancestandards-for-forensic-dna-testing-laboratories.pdf/view. Accessed on August 13, 2019.

6] FBI, Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories, effective July 1, 2020. It 

is available at

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/4344b0_6782472e073442ec877085584aaffa36.pdf Accessed 

on August 13, 2019.

7] FBI, Addendum to the Quality Assurance Standards for DNA Databasing Laboratories performing

Rapid DNA analysis or modified Rapid DNA analysis using a Rapid DNA instrument

8] ISO Standard Minimizing the risk of human DNA contamination in products used to collect, store 

and analyze biological material for forensic purposes – Requirements, ISO19385:2016(E).

9] SWGDAM, Contamination Prevention and Detection Guidelines for Forensic DNA Laboratories. It is 

available on the SWGDAM website, https://www.swgdam.org/

10] Kloosterman, Sjerps & Quak (2014). Error rates in forensic DNA analysis: Definition, numbers, 

impact and communication. FSI: Genetics, 12: 77-85.

11] Kloosterman, A.D. (2001). Credibility of forensic DNA typing is driven by stringent quality 

standards. Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 6: 409-414.

1 A more comprehensive bibliography may be found within the SWGDAM Contamination Prevention and 

Detection Guidelines for Forensic DNA Laboratories
11

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

12] Rutty, Watson & Davison (2000). DNA contamination of mortuary instruments and work 

surfaces: as significant problem in forensic practice. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 

114: 56-60.

13] Thompson, W.C. Forensic DNA Evidence: The Myth of Infallibility. In Sheldon Krimsky & Jeremy 

Gruber (Eds.), Genetic Explanations: Sense and Nonsense. Harvard University Press, 2013,pp.

227-255.

14] ISO Standard Minimizing the risk of human DNA contamination in products used to collect, store 

and analyze biological material for forensic purposes – Requirements, ISO19385:2016(E).
12

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

Annex B

(normative)

Requirements – Supporting Information

Requirement-Specific Supporting Information

4.1.4 The intention of this standard on storage is to cause separation of DNA containing items 

from non-DNA containing items. When DNA is present, the intention is to distance those items 

that may have low quantities from those expected to have higher quantities. Within the strictures 

of the standards, the laboratory shall define appropriate use of storage locations.

4.2.5 Contamination tolerance levels are defined based on the methodology, technology, 

sensitivity requirements, and sample types as applicable to laboratory protocols (e.g. autosomal 

STR, Y-STR, negative controls and/ or reagent blank controls, positive controls, unknown samples, 

and reference samples). Genetic data detected below a laboratory’s tolerance level has been 

determined not to interfere and may be disregarded. Tolerance levels may also allow different 

acceptability criteria of sample data based on presence or absence of specific exogenous data 

(match/ no match) observed in negative/reagent blank controls.

4.2.11 Documentation of contamination incidents within case records is critical to transparency 

and preparation for discovery.

4.2.7 Investigation of a contamination event typically includes actions taken to determine the 

procedural step where the contamination occurred during processing. The actions involve 

stepping sequentially backwards through the process and repeating a step to determine if the 

contaminant was reproducible and present at that point in the process.

4.2.8.1. Profiles added to a contamination elimination database (as legally allowable) should not 

be limited to biology staff and positive control samples. More effective use would be to include 

profiles from any individuals who are involved in the collection and handling of evidence, work 

samples, reagents, or consumables (e.g. staff, agency and other associated workers such as 

medical examiners, sexual assault nurses, service personnel and lab visitors.). It is also important 

to include contamination elimination profiles: unknown DNA profiles obtained from negative or 

positive controls, or profiles that have been putatively assigned as possible contaminant profiles 

(e.g. from consumables).
13

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination

4.2.12 Tracking information should include a general description of the event, identifying 

information (date, case number), and outcome. This can aid in trend recognition, particularly for 

low-level events. It may provide information to prevent case-threatening situations.

4.2.13 Documentation of contamination incidents within case records is critical to transparency 

and preparation for discovery.

4.2.14 Documented contamination events shall be reported. As appropriate, laboratory reports 

and communications shall include an alert to potential contamination events. This may be 

accomplished by a statement specific to a particular event and/or by a more general statement 

reminding the reader that a report is a summary document (e.g. “This is a summary report and 

additional supporting information is available.”).
14

Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination