#5638_07_2014_FINAL

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North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
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August 18, 2014
5638
Mr. Terry Groome
Town of Oriental
P.O. Box 472
Oriental, NC 28571
John E, Skvarla, Ill
Secretary
Subject: North Carolina Wastewater/Groundwater Laboratory Certification (NC WW/GW LC)
Initial Inspection
Dear Mr. Groome:
Enclosed is a report for the inspection performed on July 15, 2014 by Nick Jones. Where finding(s)
are cited in this report, a response is required. Within thirty days of receipt, please supply this office
with a written item for item description of how these finding(s) were corrected. If the finding(s) cited
in the enclosed report are not corrected, enforcement actions may be recommended. For
certification maintenance, your laboratory must continue to carry out the requirements set forth in
15A NCAC 2H .0800.
Copies of the checklists completed during the inspection may be requested from this office. Thank
you for your cooperation during the inspection. If you wish to obtain an electronic copy of this
report by email or if you have questions or need additional information, please contact -us at (828)
296-4677.
Attachment
cc: Master file
Nick jones
Sincerely,
Gary Francies, Technical Assistance/Compliance Specialist
Division of Water Resources
Water Sciences Section
NC Wastewater/Groundwater Laboratory Certification Branch
1623 Mail Service Center. Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1623
Location: 4405 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Internet: www.dwglab.org
An Equal Opportunity t Afrmative Action Employer

INSPECTION REPORT ROUTING SHEET
To be attached to all inspection reports in-house only.
Laboratory Cert. #:
Laboratory Name:
Inspection Type:
Inspector Name(s):
Inspection Date:
Date Report Completed:
Date Forwarded to Reviewer:
Reviewed by:
Date Review Completed:
Cover Letter to use:
Unit Supervisor/Chemist III:
Date Received:
Date Forwarded to Linda:
Date Mailed:
5638
Town of Oriental
Field Initial
Nick Jones
July 18, 2014
July 18, 2014
July 18, 2014
Tonga Springer
August 6. 2014
® Insp. Initial ❑ Insp. Reg.
❑ Insp. No Finding ❑ Insp. CP
❑ Corrected
Gary Francies
8/6/2014
8/15/2014
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LABORATORY NAME:
NPDES PERMIT # :
ADDRESS:
CERTIFICATE #:
DATE OF INSPECTION:
TYPE OF INSPECTION:
AUDITOR(S):
LOCAL PERSON(S) CONTACTED:
INTRODUCTION:
On -Site Inspection Report
Town of Oriental
NCO088447
P.O. Box 472
Oriental, NC 28571
5638
July 15, 2014
Field Initial
Nick Jones
Terry Groome, Joshua Gibson
and Andrew Cox
This laboratory was inspected by a representative of the North Carolina
Wastewater/Groundwater Laboratory Certification (NC WW/GW LC) program to verify its
compliance with the requirements of 15A NCAC 2H .0800 for the analysis of environmental
samples.
II. GENERAL COMMENTS:
This was the laboratory's first inspection since obtaining certification on November 7, 2013.
The facility has all the equipment necessary to perform the analyses.
Proficiency Testing (PT) samples for the 2014 proficiency testing calendar year have not yet
been analyzed. The laboratory is reminded that these results must be submitted to this office
directly from the vendor by September 30, 2014.
Contracted analyses are performed by Environment 1, Inc. (Certification #10) and Envirochem
(Certification # 94).
Current quality assurance policies for Field Laboratories and approved procedures for the
analysis of the facility's currently certified parameters were provided at the time of the
inspection.
III. FINDINGS REQUIREMENTS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Quality Control
A. Finding: The laboratory needs to increase the documentation of purchased
materials and reagents.

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#5638 - Town of Oriental
B. Requirement: All chemicals, reagents, standards and consumables used by the
laboratory must have the following information documented: Date Received, Date
Opened (in use), Vendor, Lot Number, and Expiration Date. Consumable materials
such as pH buffers and lots of pre -made standards are included in this requirement.
Ref: Quality Assurance Policies for Field Laboratories.
Comment: An example traceability log sheet that documents all required traceability
information was supplied by the auditor during the inspection.
C. Finding: Error corrections are not performed properly (i.e., overwriting).
Requirement: All documentation errors must be corrected by drawing a single line
through the error so that the original entry remains legible. Entries shall not be
obliterated by erasures or markings. Wite-Out@, correction tape or similar products
designed to obliterate documentation are not to be used. Write the correction
adjacent to the error. The correction must be initialed by the responsible individual
and the date of change documented. All data and log entries must be written in
indelible ink. Pencil entries are not acceptable. Ref: Quality Assurance Policies for
Field Laboratories.
Documentation
D. Finding: The laboratory benchsheets were missing the following pertinent data:
• instrument ID - pH, DO and Temperature
• facility name - pH, DO and Temperature benchsheet (was on calibration log)
Requirement: Documentation: The following must be documented in indelible ink
whenever sample analysis is performed. 3. Sample site including facility name and
location, ID, etc. 12. Instrument identification. Ref: NC WW/GW LC Approved
Procedure for the Analysis of pH, Approved Procedure for the Analysis of Dissolved
Oxygen, Approved Procedure for the Analysis of Temperature.
Requirement: Documentation: The following must be documented in indelible ink
whenever sample analysis is performed. 8. Instrument identification. Ref: NC
WW/GW LC Approved Procedure for the Analysis of Dissolved Oxygen.
Requirement: Documentation: The following must be documented in indelible ink
whenever sample analysis is performed. 9. Thermometer/ Instrument identification.
Ref: NC WW/GW LC Approved Procedure for the Analysis of Temperature.
Comment: At the request of the laboratory, the inspector prepared a benchsheet that
contains all of the required pertinent data. The inspector sent the benchsheet to the lab
via email on 7/18/2014.
Proficiency Testing
E. Finding: The laboratory is not documenting PT sample analyses in the same
manner as environmental samples.

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#5638 — Town of Oriental
Requirement: All PT sample analyses must be recorded in the daily analysis
records as for any environmental sample. This serves as the permanent laboratory
record. Ref: Proficiency Testing Requirements, February 20, 2012, Revision 1.2.
pH — Standard Methods, 4500 H+ B-2000.
Comment: Values were reported that exceed the method specified accuracy of 0.1 units.
Standard Methods, 4500 H+ B-2000, (6) states: By careful use of a laboratory pH meter with
good electrodes, a precision of ±0.02 unit and an accuracy of ±0.05 unit can be achieved.
However, ± 0.1 pH unit represents the limit of accuracy under normal conditions, especially
for measurement of water and poorly buffered solutions. For this reason, report pH values to
the nearest 0.1 pH unit. Demonstration of acceptable corrective action (i.e., an updated
Excel spreadsheet which automatically rounds to one decimal place) was completed during
the inspection. No further response is necessary for this finding.
Temperature — Standard Methods, 2660 B-2000.
F. Finding: The liquid — in - glass thermometer used to obtain reported temperature
values has not been checked against a National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) traceable thermometer.
Requirement: Thermometers and temperature measuring devices, used to measure
temperature for compliance monitoring, must be checked every 12 months against a
NIST traceable thermometer. The thermometer/meter readings must be less than or
equal to 1°C from the NIST traceable thermometer reading. The documentation must
include the serial number of the NIST traceable thermometer that was used in the
comparison. Document any correction that applies on both the thermometer/meter
and on a separate sheet to be filed. Ref: NC WW/GW LC Approved Procedure for
the Analysis of Temperature.
IV. PAPER TRAIL INVESTIGATION:
The paper trail consisted of comparing field testing records and contract lab reports to
Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) submitted to the North Carolina Division of Water
Resources. Data were reviewed for Town of Aurora (NPDES permit # NC0088447) for
February 2014. No transcription errors were detected. The facility appears to be doing a
good job of accurately transcribing data.
V. CONCLUSIONS:
Correcting the above -cited findings will help this lab to produce quality data and meet
certification requirements. The inspector would like to thank the staff for its assistance during
the inspection and data review process. Please respond to all findings.
Report prepared by: Nick Jones Date: July 18, 2014
Report reviewed by: Tonja Springer Date: August 6, 2014