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What's New
NEMC 2007 - August 20-24, 2007
The 23nd Annual National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC),
will be held August 20-24, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency, Cambridge, MA. Call for papers is due by April 2, 2007 by following the instructions on the NEMC Web Site. 
Special Announcement Regarding New Perchlorate Methods Under Development by EPA - June 30, 2006
The EPA Office of Solid Waste has developed and is currently validating two new methods for the determination of perchlorate in various environmental media, including soil, sludge, wastewater, and high salt water. Method 6850 uses high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI/MS) and Method 6860 uses ion chromatography/ electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (IC/ESI/MS). A wide range of HPLC and IC columns, single and dual MS systems, and their respective analytical conditions are currently being evaluated for inclusion in Methods 6850 and 6860 via a large-scale, multi-laboratory round robin study in order to verify their accuracy, precision and applicability for the matrices of interest. The expected publication date for Methods 6850 and 6860 is December, 2006. Methods 6850 and 6860 are still under development and thus have NOT been officially published by EPA. We anticipate significant additions and modifications to these methods prior to their official publication as new methods on the EPA OSW Methods Web Site.
EPA recognizes that some commercial or other laboratories may have obtained early deliberative copies of Methods 6850 and 6860 and may be analyzing perchlorate using conditions that are equivalent or similar to those that are currently described in the methods under development. Given the developmental status of Methods 6850 and 6860, EPA advises that it is improper at this time to reference, quote, mention, or otherwise refer to or allude to the use of Method 6850 or 6860 in any commercial or other public application or publication. When reporting or publishing perchlorate analytical results, any laboratory analyzing research or commercial samples for perchlorate using chromatographic columns, MS systems, and/or analytical conditions equivalent or similar to Methods 6850 and 6860 may either choose to reference their own internal standard operating procedure (SOP) or otherwise identify the specific analytical conditions that were used. Laboratories or other entities must not refer to them as “EPA or SW-846 Method 6850 or Method 6860”. EPA looks forward to officially publishing Methods 6850 and 6860 as new methods to assist stakeholders in ensuring perchlorate analytical data quality for RCRA waste testing and other related applications. The methods will be posted on the OSW Methods Team Website under the “New Methods” link with an accompanying announcement as soon as they are completed and approved by the SW-846 Methods Workgroup. At that time laboratories will be able to freely quote and apply the official SW-846 method numbers.
NEMC 2006 - The Health, Depth and Breadth of the Environmental Monitoring Industry
The 22nd Annual National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC),
was held August 28-31, 2006 at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel,
801 North Glebe Road, Arlington,
Virginia 22203. For more information, including the technical program and proceedings,
visit the NEMC Web Site (PDF) (10 pp, 89K, About PDF)
NEMC 2005 - Protecting People and the Environment Through Environmental Monitoring
The 21st Annual National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC),
will be held July 25-29, 2005 at the Wyndham City Center Hotel, 1143 New
Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037. For more information, visit the NEMC Web Site.
METHODS INNOVATION RULE (MIR) The Methods Innovations Rule has been finalized. Included are Frequently Asked Questions about the rule.
REVISED STYLE GUIDE EPA's revised SW-846 4th Edition Method Style Guide, 11/28/05 (PDF) (33 pp, 190K, About PDF) is now available on-line.
LETTERS FROM DOT REGARDING SAMPLE PRESERVATION There are two letters from the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding sample preservation. The first letter (PDF) (1 pg, 42K, About PDF)documents that DOT does not consider samples preserved according to EPA requirements to be DOT hazardous materials (unless, of course, the sample meets the definition of a hazardous material without preservation). Not having to ship environmental samples as hazardous material should greatly reduce the cost of shipping by air.
The second letter (PDF) (1 pp, 2.1MB, About PDF) addresses the inconsistency between the EPA requirement for a container holding a sample to be analyzed for volatile organic compounds not to contain any free headspace and the DOT requirement that samples shipped by air that contain free headspace. It explains that if the VOA vial is placed in a container with free headspace, the DOT requirements will be satisfied and the samples can be shipped by air.
NEMC 2004 - Protecting People and the Environment Through Environmental Monitoring
The 20th conference was held July 19-22, 2004 at the Wyndham Washington
Hotel in Washington, DC. For more information, including the technical
program and proceedings, visit the NEMC
Web Site (PDF) (379 pp, 4.9MB, About PDF).
RCRA WASTE SAMPLING DRAFT TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
EPA's new RCRA waste sampling guidance document is now available on-line. The proposed rule that announces the availability of this new guidance document is also available.
REOPENING OF COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROPOSED METHODS INNOVATION RULE (MIR)
EPA extended the comment period (January 16, 2003) on its proposed rule (October 30, 2002) titled Methods Innovation Rule (MIR) and Notice of Data Availability that announced the availability of the new RCRA Waste Sampling Draft Technical Guidance. The original comment period announced in the proposal and notice was scheduled to end on December 30, 2002. This notice (January 16, 2003) further extended the comment period on the proposed MIR and RCRA Waste Draft Technical Guidance until February 28, 2003.
NEW METHODS
Take a look at the new methods that have been developed.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
The MICE Frequent Questions page has been expanded to include questions about the TCLP, organics, metals, sampling, batches and QC, status of methods, used oil, data reporting, and other questions.
ARTICLE ON THE STATUS OF THE RCRA METHODS PROGRAM
To find out more information about the current status of the RCRA methods development program, please look at the 2000 article "An Update of the Current Status of the RCRA Method Development Program" (PDF) (11 pp, 31K, About PDF). This article includes activities of the OSW Methods Team in advancing the RCRA Methods Development Program in the year 2000. The 1999 (PDF)(16 pp, 47K, About PDF) and the 1998 (PDF) (24 pp, 61K, About PDF) versions of this article are also available for downloading.
NEW FAX NUMBER FOR THE MICE SERVICE
As of October 1, 2004 the MICE Service has a new fax number. For all your SW-846 method-related questions and comments on technical issues regarding SW-846, you can contact the MICE Service at:
Fax: (703) 318-4646
Phone: (703) 676-4690
MINUTES FROM THE 1999 PUBLIC MEETING ON WASTE LEACHING
OSW held a public meeting on the Development of New Waste Leaching Procedures on July 22-23, 1999. This meeting included discussions on modeling and risk assessment, leaching science and leaching policy and applications, among other topics. Attendees provided valuable input on approaches to improve the accuracy of leachate prediction tools as well as on considerations for the development of the next generation of leaching tests. The meeting minutes are available on-line in PDF format.
To download the meeting minutes, please go to the Public Meeting on Waste Leaching page.
IMMUNOASSAY TEST KITS VALIDATED BY OSW AND GUIDELINES FOR REVALIDATION OF EXISTING IMMUNOASSASY BASED ANALYTICAL PRODUCTS
A list of immunoassay test kits that have been validated by OSW (PDF) (1 pg, 30K, About PDF) is avavilable on line, as well as Guidelines for Revalidation of Exisiting Immunoassay Based Analytical Products (PDF) (5 pp, 17K, About PDF). See also the Method Development and Approval Process page.
GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS FOR METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION AND SUBMITTAL OF NEW IMMUNOASSAY METHODS
Two OSW guidance documents - one for method development and validation and another on submittal of new immunoassay methods - are available on-line:
- Method Development and Validation Guidance (PDF) (32 pp, 105K, About PDF)
- Guidance for Submittal of New Immunoassay Methods (PDF) (14 pp, 45K, About PDF)
For more information, please go to the Method Development and Approval Process page.
ALSO, ON-LINE:
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OSWER'S PBMS Implementation plan: Download a copy of the OSWER's PBMS Implementation Plan (PDF) (55 pp, 152K, About PDF). To see additional information about OSW and PBMS, please see the PBMS page.
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Clarification Memorandum on SW-846 Methods: Download a copy of the 1998 memorandum of clarification (PDF) (20 pp, 85K, About PDF) and guidance regarding the Update III versions of SW-846 Methods 3550B, 5021, 5035, 6010B, 8000B, and 8082 and the use of SW-846 in general.
LOOK FOR THESE OTHER ARTICLES WRITTEN BY THE OSW METHODS TEAM RELATING TO SW-846: