Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 60 - Laboratories and Medical Examiner › Subchapter 05 - State Laboratory › Part 5 - Certifying Analytical Laboratories › Section 216-RICR-60-05-5.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in these rules and
				  regulations the following terms shall be construed to mean:
1. "A2LA" means American Association for
				  Laboratory Accreditation, a voluntary program for accrediting environmental
				  lead laboratories and proficiency testing providers to the ISO/IEC 17025
				  standard.
2. "Accredited" means to
				  be recognized as conforming to a standard by an accrediting organization (i.e.,
				  NELAP approved accrediting authorities, American Industrial Hygiene Association
				  [AIHA], American Association for Laboratory Accreditation [A2LA]).
3. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  23-16.2, entitled "Laboratories."
4. "AIHA" or "American Industrial Hygiene
				  Association" means a voluntary program for accrediting environmental lead
				  laboratories for the testing of Environmental Lead per the ISO/IEC 17025
				  standard.
5. "Analytical
				  laboratory" means a facility for the biological, microbiological, chemical,
				  physical, and radiochemical examination of potable water, non-potable water, or
				  other environmental matrices.
6.
				  "Analytical reagent grade", "(AR) grade", "ACS reagent grade", and "reagent
				  grade" means reagents that conform to the current specifications of the
				  Committee on Analytical Reagents of the American Chemical Society
				  (ACS).
7. "ASTM" means the American
				  Society for Testing and Materials.
8. "Applicant" means a laboratory applying to
				  the Department to become a certified analytical laboratory.
9. "Certification" means the determination by
				  the Department of Health that an analytical laboratory can perform tests or
				  analyses of environmental samples in accordance with the requirements of these
				  rules and regulations.
10.
				  "Certified thermometer" means a thermometer that has documentation from the
				  manufacturer that it has been calibrated by NIST.
11. "Class 'A' glassware" means glassware
				  satisfying the applicable requirements for Class A glassware established by
				  NIST.
12. "Compliance analysis or
				  testing" means the analysis of a sample that is required by law or
				  regulation.
13. "Department" means
				  the Rhode Island Department of Health.
14. "Director" means the Director of the
				  Rhode Island Department of Health.
15. "Environmental lead" means lead in paint,
				  dust, wipe and soil and/or water samples collected for laboratory testing to
				  support the migration of lead hazard or exposure.
16. "EPA" means the United States
				  Environmental Protection Agency.
17. "ISO/IEC 17025" means the International
				  Organization for Standardization Standard 17025 used by laboratories that
				  produce testing and calibration results.
18. "NELAP" means National Environmental
				  Laboratory Accreditation Program, which implements the TNI standards and
				  evaluates the accrediting authority programs.
19. "NPDES" means National Pollutant
				  Discharge Elimination System, a program of the EPA.
20. "NIST" means National Institute of
				  Standards and Technology, an agency that sets accuracy standards for laboratory
				  equipment and accredits proficiency test providers.
21. "Persons" means any individual, firm,
				  partnership, corporation, company, association, or joint stock
				  ownership.
22. "Proficiency testing
				  sample" or "PT sample" means a subsample of a matrix containing analytes of a
				  concentration unknown to the laboratory that is used to evaluate the
				  performance of its analytical systems. Proficiency testing samples shall be
				  obtained from a provider that is accredited by the TNI Proficiency Testing
				  Provider Accreditation Program.
23.
				  "Quality assurance" or "QA" means the integrated system of operations and
				  measurements performed to assure that data meets defined standards of quality
				  within a stated level of confidence.
24. "Quality control" or "QC" means the
				  practice of standardized operations or measurements that determine or predict
				  aspects of data quality.
25. "TNI"
				  or "NELAC Institute" means a voluntary non-profit organization whose mission is
				  to foster performance standards for the operation of environmental laboratories
				  for the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality
				  through process that is endorsed by the EPA. TNI also maintains the Proficiency
				  Testing Provider Accreditor program.