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Home My WebLink About#5461 11-final INSPECTION REPORT ROUTING SHEET To be attached to all inspection reports in-house only. Laboratory Cert. #: 5461 Laboratory Name: Chatham County Water Treatment Plant Inspection Type: Field Maintenance Inspector Name(s): Jeffrey R. Adams Inspection Date: September 29, 2011 Date Report Completed: October 7, 2011 Date Forwarded to Reviewer: October 7, 2011 Reviewed by: Todd Crawford Cover Letter to use: Insp. Initial X Insp. Reg. Insp. No Finding Insp. CP __ Corrected Unit Supervisor: Dana Satterwhite Date Received: October 10, 2011 Date Forwarded to Linda October 21, 2011 Date Mailed: October 21, 2011 _____________________________________________________________________ On-Site Inspection Report LABORATORY NAME: Chatham County Water Treatment Plant NPDES PERMIT #: WQ0009589 ADDRESS: 290 Beaver Creek Rd. Apex, NC 27510 CERTIFICATE #: 5461 DATE OF INSPECTION: September 29, 2011 TYPE OF INSPECTION: Field Maintenance AUDITOR(S): Jeffrey R. Adams LOCAL PERSON(S) CONTACTED: Kristen Allen, Allen Harris and Leonard McBryde I. INTRODUCTION: This laboratory was inspected to verify its compliance with the requirements of 15A NCAC 2H .0800 for the analysis of environmental samples. II. GENERAL COMMENTS: The laboratory was clean and well organized. The facility has all of the necessary equipment to perform the analyses; however, some quality control procedures need to be implemented. As a reminder, your 2011 Proficiency Testing (PT) sample results are due no later than October 31, 2011. The laboratory was given a packet containing North Carolina Laboratory Certification quality control requirements and policies during the inspection. Finding A is a new policy that has been implemented by our program since the last inspection. III. FINDINGS, REQUIREMENTS, COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Documentation A. Finding: The laboratory needs to increase the documentation of purchased materials and reagents, as well as, documentation of standards and reagents prepared in the laboratory. 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. A system (e.g., traceable identifiers) must be in place that links standard/reagent preparation information to analytical batches in which t he solutions are used. Documentation of solution preparation must include the analyst’s initials, date of preparation, the volume or weight of standard(s) used, the solvent and final volume of the solution. This information as well as the vendor and/or manufacturer, lot number, and expiration date must be retained for chemicals, reagents, standards and consumables used for a period of five years. Consumable materials such as pH buffers and lots of pre-made standards are included in this requirement. Ref: Quality Assurance Policies for Field Laboratories. Page 2 #5461 Chatham County Water Treatment Plant Quality Control B. Finding: The certification of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable thermometer used to perform the annual temperature sensor checks expired on August 5, 2010. Requirement: NIST traceable thermometers used for temperature measurement must be recalibrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s recalibration date. If no recalibration date is given, the NIST traceable thermometer must be recalibrated annually. Ref: North Carolina Wastewater/Groundwater Laboratory Certification Policy. A copy of the new certificate must be submitted with the response to this report. The temperature sensors must be rechecked using the new traceable thermometer and a copy of the checks must be submitted with the response to this report. Comment: You may have trouble getting your NIST thermometer re-certified. As part of an initiative to reduce the use of mercury in products, EPA is working with stakeholders to reduce the use of mercury-containing non-fever thermometers in industrial and commercial settings. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is working with EPA on this effort, announced on February 2, 2011 that it will no longer calibrate mercury-in-glass thermometers for traceability purposes beginning on March 1, 2011. Other vendors may follow this lead. Additional information on the phase-out of mercury-filled thermometers and selecting alternatives to mercury-filled thermometers can be found on the following EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/hg/thermometer.htm. Settleable Residue – Standard Methods, 18th Edition, 2540 F C. Finding: The laboratory is not documenting the 45 minute stir time. This is considered pertinent information. Requirement: Settle for 45 min, gently agitate sample the sides of the cone with a rod or by spinning, settle 15 min longer, and record volume of settleable solids in the cone as milliliters per liter. Ref: Standard Methods, 19th Edition, 2540 F. (3) (a). Requirement: The 45 minute stir time must be documented whenever sample analysis is performed. Ref: Technical Assistance for Field Analysis of Settleable Solids. IV. PAPER TRAIL INVESTIGATION: The paper trail consisted of comparing laboratory benchsheets and contract lab reports to Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) submitted to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. Data were reviewed for the Chatham County Water Treatment Plant Lagoon (NPDES permit #WQ0009589) for the following months: June, July and August, 2011. No transcription errors were detected. It appears the laboratory is 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: Jeffrey R. Adams Date: October 6, 2011 Report reviewed by: Todd Crawford Date: October 10, 2011