WAC 246-390-010   Definitions.  Definitions in this section shall apply throughout this chapter, unless clearly indicated otherwise.

     (1) "Administrative Procedure Act" means the adjudicative proceedings governed by chapter 34.05 RCW and chapter 246-08 WAC.

     (2) "Analytical data" means the recorded qualitative and/or quantitative results of a chemical, physical, biological, microbiological, or radiological determination.

     (3) "Certification" means the formal contractual agreement between the department and the certified laboratory indicating a laboratory is capable of producing accurate analytical data and is authorized to test drinking water compliance samples. The department will issue a certificate to the laboratory indicating the contaminants the laboratory is authorized to analyze. Certification does not guarantee validity of analytical data submitted by a certified laboratory.

     (4) "Certification authority" means the designated official or a representative of the official authorized by the department as the head of the certification program.

     (5) "Certification manual" means the most recent revision of the procedural and technical criteria of the drinking water certification rules. This document, entitled "Certification Manual for Laboratories Analyzing Washington State Drinking Water," is available from the Department of Health, Public Health Laboratory, Drinking Water Certification Program, 1610 NE 150th St., Seattle, Washington 98155-7224.

     (6) "Certification official (CO)" means the designated official authorized by the department to certify drinking water laboratories.

     (7) "Compliance sample" means a drinking water sample collected in accordance with WAC 246-290-300 and/or 246-290-320 and submitted to a state certified laboratory for analysis.

     (8) "Department" means the Washington state department of health.

     (9) "EMSL-CI" means the EPA Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio.

     (10) "EMSL-LV" means the EPA Environmental Monitoring System Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada.

     (11) "EPA" means United States Environmental Protection Agency.

     (12) "Intercomparison studies" means a series of cross check samples sent to radiochemistry laboratories by EPA to compare the results between participating laboratories.

     (13) "Laboratory" means any facility under the ownership and technical management of a single entity in a single geographical locale. A laboratory is where scientific examinations are performed on drinking water samples.

     (14) "Maximum contaminant level (MCL)" means the maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water the purveyor delivers to any public water system user, measured at the location identified under WAC 246-290-300, Table 4.

     (15) "Official methods" means methodologies specified by EPA drinking water regulations under 40 C.F.R. 141.21 - 141.30, 141.41 - 141.42, 7/1/90 and approved by the department.

     (16) "Parameter" means a single determination or group of related determinations using a specific written official method.

     (17) "Performance evaluation (PE)" means an evaluation of the results of analysis of samples from an external testing source whose true values are unknown to the laboratory conducting the analysis. The external testing service must be approved by the department and/or CO if other than EPA sources are used.

     (18) "On-site audit" means an on-site inspection performed by the department to determine a laboratory's capabilities and facilities.

     (19) "Quality assurance (QA)" means all those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide confidence that an analysis, measurement, or surveillance program produces data of known and defensible quality.

     (20) "Quality controls (QC)" means internal written procedures and routine analyses of laboratory reference materials, samples, and blanks to insure precision and accuracy of methodology, equipment and results.

     (21) "State advisory level (SAL)" means a department-established value for a chemical without an existing MCL. The SAL represents a level which when exceeded, indicates the need for further assessment to determine if the chemical is an actual or potential threat to human health.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20.050. 92-15-152 (Order 290B), § 246-390-010, filed 7/22/92, effective 8/22/92.]