Illinois Administrative Code › Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH › Part 465 - CERTIFICATION AND OPERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORIES › Subpart B - MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSES OF PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SAMPLES › Section 465.400 - Quality Assurance for Media, Equipment and Supplies

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following minimum requirements shall apply to quality
				  assurance checks of laboratory media, equipment, and supplies:
a) The pH meter or meters shall be
				standardized before each use period with pH 7.0 and either pH 4.0 or pH 10.0
				standard buffers, whichever range covers the desired pH of the media or
				reagent. A record of the standardization, including the percent slope, shall be
				maintained. Percent slope shall be 95 to 105%. Each buffer aliquot shall be
				used only once. Commercial buffer solutions shall be dated and shall not be
				used past the expiration date. Electrodes shall be maintained according to
				manufacturer's recommendations.
b)
				Balances shall be calibrated monthly using NIST standardized Echelon I or II,
				or equivalent ASTM 1, 2, or 3 weights. A minimum of three weights that bracket
				the weighing requirements of the laboratory shall be used, and these weights
				shall be recertified every five years. A certificate shall accompany the
				weights. A certificate shall state either that the weights are compliant with
				the requirements of ASTM E1617-13 class 1, 2 or 3 tolerances or that they are
				compliant with the NIST Handbook 150-2G. The certificate shall list corrective
				data. Electronic balances shall be calibrated annually by a qualified service
				representative who is not affiliated with the laboratory. A certificate of
				calibration from the service representative shall be available for
				inspection.
c) Glass and electronic
				thermometers and temperature-recording devices including data loggers shall be
				calibrated annually at temperature of use against an NIST certified thermometer
				to within ± 1.0 ° C. Mercury NIST-certified thermometers shall be
				checked at the ice point annually and recalibrated at least every five years at
				each temperature of use. Digital NIST-certified thermometers shall be checked
				at the ice point annually and recalibrated at least every five years to
				demonstrate linearity. If datalogger or autoclave digital temperature record is
				used, datalogger or autoclave digital temperature record shall be calibrated
				annually by a qualified service representative who is not affiliated with the
				laboratory. A certificate of calibration from the service representative shall
				be available for inspection. Digital thermometer probe and meter shall be
				calibrated as a unit. The calibration factor, date calibrated, temperature of
				calibration, and analyst's initials shall be tagged on each thermometer. In
				addition, the laboratory shall record the following information in a Quality
				Assurance (QA) record book:
1) Serial number
				or unique identifier of laboratory thermometer;
2) Serial number of NIST-traceable
				thermometer;
3) Temperature of
				laboratory thermometer;
4)
				Temperature of NIST-traceable thermometer;
5) Correction (or calibration)
				factor;
6) Date of calibration;
				and
7) Analyst's
				initials.