#5433 10 Final

INSPECTION REPORT ROUTING SHEET

To be attached to all inspection reports in-house only.

Laboratory Cert. #: 5433

Laboratory Name: MacTec Engineering & Consulting

Inspection Type: Field Maintenance

Inspector Name(s): Jeffrey R. Adams

Inspection Date: January 19, 2010

Date Report Completed: February 15, 2010

Date Forwarded to Reviewer: February 15, 2010

Reviewed by: Jason Smith

Date Review Completed: February 25, 2010_________

Cover Letter to use: Insp. Initial X Insp. Reg. Insp. No Finding Insp. CP

Unit Supervisor: Dana Satterwhite

Date Received: March 5, 2010

Date Forwarded to Alberta: March 12, 2010

Date Mailed:

_____________________________________________________________________

On-Site Inspection Report

LABORATORY NAME: MacTec Engineering & Consulting

NPDES PERMIT #: Various

ADDRESS: 3301 Atlantic Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27604

CERTIFICATE #: 5433

DATE OF INSPECTION: January 19, 2010

TYPE OF INSPECTION: Field Maintenance

AUDITOR(S): Jeffrey R. Adams

LOCAL PERSON(S) CONTACTED: Brian Smith

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 neat, and equipment well maintained. Records were maintained and well organized;
however, some quality control procedures need to be implemented.

The laboratory rents all monitoring equipment from a commercial vendor and does not always keep them on-
site. Because of renting, they do not always get the same instrument. They only rent the equipment on the
days which require monitoring.

The laboratory was given copies of the Technical Assistance Documents for all field parameters during the
inspection.

III. FINDINGS, REQUIREMENTS, COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

Dissolved Oxygen – Standard Methods, 18th Edition, 4500 O G
Specific Conductance – Standard Methods, 18th Edition, 2510 B
pH – Standard Methods, 18th Edition, 4500 H+ B

A. Finding: The temperature sensor check is being performed by the vendor company that
supplies the rental equipment, but there is no documentation or certificate of traceability that
accompanies each meter.

Requirement: The temperature sensor in the meter must be checked every 12 months
against an NIST certified or NIST traceable thermometer and the process documented even if
the instrument is not used for reporting temperature results. The temperature correction (even
if it is zero) must be posted on the meter as well as in hard copy format (to be retained for 5
years). Ref: Technical Assistance for Field Analysis of Specific Conductance, Technical Assistance
for Field Analysis of Dissolved Oxygen, and Technical Assistance for Field Analysis of pH.

Comment: Since equipment is rented and the meters used change frequently, it would be acceptable
to have the certificate of traceability travel with the meter during use so that the analyst can check and
apply any necessary temperature correction.
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#5433 MacTec Engineering & Consulting

Recommendation: It is recommended that since equipment is rented and the meters used change
frequently that the meter identification (e.g., serial number) be recorded on all benchsheets or
laboratory records in which that meter was used to provide traceability of required documentation.

Specific Conductance – Standard Methods, 18th Edition, 2510 B

B. Finding: The laboratory is not performing the Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC)
verification check on its conductivity meter.

Requirement: The Automatic Temperature Compensator (ATC) must be verified by analyzing a
standard at 25°C (the temperature that conductivity values are compensated to) and a
temperature(s) that bracket the temperature ranges of the samples to be analyzed. This may require
the analysis of a third temperature reading that is > 25 °C. This must be performed on an annual
(i.e., 12 month) basis. Ref: Technical Assistance for Field Analysis of Specific Conductance. A copy
of the ATC check documentation must be submitted with the response to this report.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the laboratory contact the vendor that supplies the rental
equipment and if they are checking the operation of the ATC, request documentation of this verification
be sent with the meter.

IV. PAPER TRAIL INVESTIGATION:

The paper trail consisted of comparing field testing records to three different client reports for February,
September and November, 2009. 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 and implementing the recommendations will help this lab to produce
quality data and meet certification requirements. The inspector would like to thank the staff for its assistance
in the inspection and data review process. Please respond to all findings.

Report prepared by: Jeffrey R. Adams Date: February 15, 2010
Report reviewed by: Jason Smith Date: February 25, 2010