ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Jan. 22, 2015) -- The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's Environmental Monitoring Laboratory recently became the first laboratory in the United States to meet requirements set forth by the DOD Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program for testing chemical warfare material.
"I'm proud of my team and the continuous expansion of our capabilities," said John Schwarz, ECBC analytical chemistry laboratory manager who oversees the EML. "This has been a goal that we have been working towards for the past three years."
Schwarz said the lab provides "unique services that customers need and services that are limited in availability especially commercially."
"Historically, we were a sustainment laboratory for providing only air monitoring services," he said. "We have gradually expanded our services using our existing in-house knowledge and equipment capabilities to meet customer needs. Over the past five years, the environmental services that we offer such as sample analysis of soil and water has grown significantly. The increase in work has resulted in customer demand for ECBC's EML, as an Army laboratory to meet the same accreditation standards as commercial environmental laboratories."
CBARR specializes in field operations that support Defense Environmental Restoration Programs that include the Recovered Chemical Warfare Material Program and Military Munition Response Program.
Under these programs, one of the primary customers is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Chemical Warfare Material. Providing support to remediation and investigation projects like Spring Valley in Washington, D.C., Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, and Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah are just a few that have warranted the DOD ELAP accreditation. The EML routinely processes thousands of samples per month in support of these projects.
Environmental samples such as soils are collected at these sites for assessment and analysis. The first step is performed by EML technicians in the field in which splits of the soil samples are vapor screened to determine that alternate split samples can be shipped commercially to the EML laboratory in Edgewood, Maryland.
At APG, the samples are quantitatively extracted and analyzed for chemical agents and degradation products under the EML's DoD ELAP Scope of Accreditation. This step is time critical, Schwarz said, because split samples are still held onsite awaiting clearance for shipment to commercial laboratories for further analyses. Samples are only sent to commercial laboratories if they are clear for chemical agents.
The DoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup provides management and oversight of this program, which allows laboratories like ECBC to demonstrate competency and document conformance to international standards and general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories as implemented by the DOD Quality Systems Manual for Environmental Laboratories.
"As a result, ECBC is part of a network where interoperability among DOD labs is promoted, along with fair and open competition among commercial laboratories," he said. "The accreditation also makes it easier for customers to identify and procure providers like ECBC for certified environmental laboratory services, including access to their data collection for known and documented quality.
"Because of our uniqueness, options for this kind of testing are limited," Schwarz said. "The importance of obtaining accreditation was to ensure our customers that we perform quality services and meet the same standards that are required of commercial laboratories. It also allows potential customers to become aware of ECBC's extensive list of capabilities."
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The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers.
RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness--technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection and sustainment--to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC provides it.
Related Documents:
<B>Fact Sheet:</B> ECBC Environmental Monitoring Laboratory Sample Screening Process [PDF]
Related Links:
Army.mil: Science and Technology News
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