Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 252 - Department of Environmental Quality › Chapter 301 - Laboratory Accreditation › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 252:301-1-3 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
In addition to the definitions contained in the
				  Environmental Quality Code (27A O.S. § 2-1-101
et seq.
)
				  and OAC 252:4 (Department of Environmental Quality Rules of Practice and
				  Procedure), the following words or terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have
				  the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Acceptable results"
, as defined in 27A O.S.
				  § 2-4-101, means
a result within limits determined on the basis of
				  statistical procedures as prescribed by the Department
.
"Accreditation"
means the process by which the
				  DEQ recognizes a laboratory as meeting certain predetermined qualifications or
				  standards, thereby accrediting the laboratory.
"Analyte"
means the characteristics of a
				  laboratory sample determined by an analytical laboratory testing procedure and
				  is synonymous with "parameter." For purposes of this Chapter, "analyte" also
				  means one of a set of inorganic or organic chemical, physical, radiochemical or
				  microbiological properties whose value determines the characteristics of a
				  water or wastewater sample.
"Applicant"
means the owner of a laboratory, or
				  a representative authorized by the owner to act on the owner's behalf, seeking
				  accreditation from the DEQ.
"Applicant laboratory"
means the laboratory and
				  its owner or authorized representative for which an application for
				  accreditation has been filed with the DEQ.
"Approved method"
means an analytical test
				  method which has been required by law or is recognized by the DEQ as acceptable
				  for a specific usage.
"Blind audit"
means a process whereby the DEQ or
				  any other designated agent submits proficiency testing samples to an accredited
				  laboratory in a manner such that the laboratory is not aware of the process.
"Certificate"
is defined in 27A O.S. §
				  2-4-101 and means the same as laboratory accreditation and includes primary
				  accreditation and reciprocity accreditation.
"Corrective Action Plan"
is a written plan of
				  action, including a schedule for implementation, to correct deficiencies
				  identified in the DEQ or DEQ-approved agent's inspection report, including a
				  timeline for implementation; or to eliminate the causes of an existing
				  nonconformity, defect or other undesirable situation in order to prevent its
				  recurrence.
"Critical Finding"
means a conclusion of
				  noncompliance that would require an immediate corrective action or an immediate
				  stop to testing.
"DEQ"
means the Oklahoma Department of
				  Environmental Quality. For purposes of certifications issued and enforcement
				  matters arising prior to July 1, 1993, "DEQ" also means predecessor agencies of
				  the DEQ which had jurisdiction over environmental water quality laboratories on
				  June 30, 1993.
"Evaluation"
, as defined in 27A O.S. §
				  2-4-101,
means a review of the quality control and quality assurance
				  procedures, recordkeeping, reporting procedures, methodology, personal
				  qualifications, equipment, facilities and analytical technique of a laboratory
				  for measuring or establishing specific parameters.
"Finding"
means a conclusion of noncompliance of
				  the evaluation process supported by objective evidence.
"Initial accreditation"
means a first-time
				  accreditation granted to a laboratory not previously accredited by the DEQ.
"Interim accreditation"
means an out-of-time
				  accreditation issued to a DEQ accredited laboratory in analytes for which the
				  laboratory is not currently accredited by the DEQ.
"Laboratory"
, as defined in 27A O.S. §
				  2-4-101, means
a facility that performs analyses to determine the
				  chemical, physical or biological properties of air, water, solid waste,
				  hazardous waste, wastewater or soil or subsoil materials or performs any other
				  analyses related to environmental quality evaluations.
"Laboratory"
				  includes mobile laboratories.
"Laboratory waste"
means by-products of the
				  analytical process, residues of samples analyzed, discarded reagents or
				  standards and any materials contaminated by any of these.
"Mobile laboratory"
means a mobile facility that
				  performs analyses in a self-contained environment with professional analytical
				  instrumentation, excluding field testing of those analytes that require
				  immediate measurement on site (conductivity, residual chlorine, pH, dissolved
				  oxygen, temperature).
"Owner"
means the sole proprietor of an
				  individually owned laboratory, the controlling or managing partner of a
				  laboratory held by a partnership, the major stockholders of a corporate owned
				  laboratory, or a municipality or other local government entity which owns or
				  operates a laboratory.
"Parameter"
is defined in 27A O.S. §
				  2-4-101 and is synonymous with "analyte."
"Proficiency testing (PT) sample"
means a sample
				  submitted to a laboratory by the DEQ or other designated agent for the purpose
				  of assessing the ability of the laboratory to correctly analyze samples using
				  an approved method.
"Program"
means the DEQ laboratory accreditation
				  program.
"QA Plan"
or
"Quality Assurance
				  Plan"
means a written description of quality assurance activities
				  (quality control) that will ensure the generation of data that are
				  scientifically valid, defensible, and of known and acceptable limits of
				  precision and accuracy.
"SOP manual"
or
"Standard Operating
				  Procedure manual"
means a document approved by a laboratory director
				  that includes approved methods, equipment and instruments used by the
				  laboratory for analyses.
Added at 25 Ok Reg 2247,
				  eff 7-11-08