Government: U.S. lab accreditation advances - Analytical Chemistry

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munity. Christenson cited the long-delayed U.S. lab reauthorization of Superfund legislation, accreditation which could pass this year; IAETL has joined the Superfund Action Alliance to advances push for passage. Also, reauthorization of First details of a program that could simthe Clean Water Act is on the docket. plify accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories in the Uniied States were The Analytical Instrument Association (AIA) continues its efforts to revamp EPA's unveiled at a January meeting at NIST. The National Council for Laboratory Acanalytical methodologies. Last year, ,he creditation (NACLA) was proposed as a group introduced a bill mandating that EPA GOVERNMENT legally chartered group of private and move to performance-based measurement public interests that would establish prosystems (H.R 3906). However, the biil's Analytical cedures and criteria for accreditation, as sponsor, Representative Bill Baker of Calichemistry and the well as rules for reciprocal recognition of fornia, was defeated in the 1996 electton. accreditation among different groups. OrAccording to Michael Duff, executive legislative agenda ganizers repeatedly cited the goal of a director of AIA the bill is on the back Analytical chemistry in the 105th U.S. burnerrightnow, but discussions with EPA single accreditation in a field of testing Congress? In fact, a handful of bills and with worldwide acceptance. continue about curlegislative efforts in this year's session will rent efforts within have an analytical chemistry connection. Laboratory accreditation in the United the agency to States is currently handled by a confusing Environmental testing laboratories streamline analytimix of private and public groups; more have placed their political weight behind a cal methods. Duff than 150 accrediting bodies exist. Accordbill that would require the federal governworries that without ing to Belinda Collins, head of NISTs Ofment to procure goods and services from fice of Standards Services, accreditation private sources. Labeled the Freedom from the from Government Competition Act, the top of the Agency or costs for a single laboratory can reach bill was introduced into the last Congress from Congress cur- around $50,000 annually, involve multiple (S.R. 1724 and H.R. 28) and enjoyed wide- Michael Duff rent efforts mav run groups or agencies, and require a significant duplication of effort. Worse yet, the spread support. out of steam. whole system is often not accepted by AIA hopes also to take advantage of a According to Linda Christenson, executive director of the International Associa- recent information technology agreement foreign trading partners, affecting the competitiveness of U.S. firms in the interamong major international trading parttion of Environmental Testing Laboratonational marketplace. In fact, efforts to ners that requires tariffs on many prodries (IAETL), the privatization bill will be streamline accreditation in Europe and re-introduced this year. IAETL is working ucts—including analytical instruments much further along than in the —to be eliminated by the year 2000. The with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to pass the bill through Congress. "With this timetable ffo removing the tariffs ii beeng United States "It's easy for others to throw stones at us " she said Republican Congress, passage is 65% cer- negotiated. AIA is lobbying the special trade representative in the White House tain," she says. The NACLA proposal was drafted by for immediate removal of the instrument the Laboratory Accreditation Working The privatization bill tackles various Group, a volunteer organization that has issues, but for environmental labs the key is tariffs. "Tariffs on analytical instruments been active since 1994 on this issue (Anall the competition between commercial laboare already low the 3-5% range," says Chem. 1995,67,706 A)) Many of fhe speratories and national, state, and some uniDuff who argues that they ineffective cifics still need to be spelled out, but the versity laboratories for the testing of envitrade barrier. He adds that European current proposal recommends a board of ronmental samples. Commercial labs cominstrument companies are pushing for directors as the policy-making and govplain that the competition is unfair because immediate removal as well erning body, an operations committee for these other laboratories have at least part of The pharmaceutical and biotechnology their overhead subsidized by government industries will be watching for the reautho- granting recognition to accreditors, and committees for various stakeholder funds. For everyone, say analysts, it has rization of the Prescription Drug User Fee groups such as industry, laboratories, and become a jobs-versus-jobs issue. Commer- Act, which was originally passed in 1992 accreditors. Membership in NACLA cial laboratories are struggling to survive in and will expire in October. According to would be open to "all interested parties". a competitive market, whereas federally or Alan Goldhammer, Director of Technical state supported laboratories are trying to Affairs at the Biotechnology Industry Orga- Organizers said that the council would not maintain facilities and personnel in the face nization, the group is discussing with mem- replace existing accreditation bodies or agencies but rather remove the duplicaof shrinking government funding. bers of Congress reforms it would like to see incorporated in the reauthorization leg- tion and confusion in the current system IAETL is also re-drafting a bill introby issuing criteria and procedures for and islation. As for the perennial question of duced into the last Congress that specifirecognition of accreditation Meeting parFDA reform Goldhammer does not know cally targeted environmental testing. Last ticipants also urged that the NACLA stanwhether legislation similar to that introyear's legislation, H.R. 2154, would have dards mesh with international guidelines duced last year will be reintroduced in the required that most federally mandated a kev factor in having IJ S laboratory data current session. However he does say that environmental testing go to "nongovernany legislative reform efforts will have to be accented in the world marketnlace NIST ment" laboratories. is exnerted tn plav a leadershin role in a "consensus package with FDA" Several other bills are being carefully rd' atinp the arcreditati r f rms watched by the environmental testing comAlan Newman andCeliaHenry Analytical Chemistry News & Features, March 1, 1997 161 A

News

Attendees agreed to form an 18-member interim NACLA board that would serve for one year to develop a charter for NACLA and set up the stakeholder committees. Collins will chair die interim board. The work of this group will be presented at another open forum. Alan Newman

Erickson to lead DOE's EML Mitchell D. Erickson has been appointed director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Measurements Laboratory in New York kity. EML's New EML Lead Mitchell Erickson primary mission is to support environmental remediation, decommission DOE facilities, and manage chemical and radioactive wastes. Erickson was formerly a group leader in the Environmental Research Division of Argonne National Laboratory, where he had worked since 1987. He is noted for his work on environmental site characterization, improving remediation techniques analytical chemistry of PCBs and remediation of PCB spills.

BUSINESS

Funding changes for the Rhine Basin Program Funding for the Rhine Basin Program, which has supported research projects along the famous river and its tributaries, will continue through a group of about 10 "partners". As announced earlier this year, Hewlett Packard has ceased sponsorship of die program, but the instrument manufacturer will continue to contribute as a research partner. The Rhine Basin Program was initiated in 1989 by Hewlett Packard as a "present" to the environmental sciences in honor of

the company's 50th anniversary and has funded research projects dealing with the chemistry, biology, and ecology of the river (Anal. Chem. 1997,69,21A-25A). Most of the financial support for the research has come from Hewlett Packard, which has spent a total of $6 million over the past six years. According to Piet van Hout, Rhine Basin Program head, future funding through the partners will probably not match those levels. Under the new plan, partners will contribute either personnel or money. In its new role, Hewlett Packard has committed $150,000 and an additional $100,000 in analytical instrumentation this year, said van Hout. Other partners include universities, government laboratories, and drinking water companies located in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, and England. At the same time, the main research focus has shifted from pesticides to the pseudo-estrogenic activity of numerous chemicals of industrial origin or those found in detergents. This new research direction has been spurred by obsei*vations that in some sections of the river markedly female than male fish are found VeronikaR.Meyer

end, the study predicts that the worldwide X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption markets will grow at approximately 3-4% per year and the UV-vis market at 3-3.5%. Most market sectors will experience moderate growth on the order of 6-10% that thould outpace inflation, according to the survey. Celia Henry

A market in developing countries?

Conventional wisdom is that developing countries are lousy markets for analytical instruments, but there are some signs that U.S. manufacturers are betting that investments today will pay off in the long run. In September of last year, Hewlett Packard introduced the 4890A GC and 7694E headspace sampler specifically for markets in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. The 4890A is based on the company's 5890A instrument, and the 7694E is derived from the 7694. Each will sell for less than $10,000, according to HP. Sid Bhatt, product manager for the instrument, says that the 4890A and the 7694E are part of a long-term investment by HP in what they hope will one day be a strong market. A key feature of the instruments, he says is that it offers good perSlow analytical formance as well as reliability. instrument growth Waters is currently marketing the expected Tiger HPLC system in India and Thailand. The analytical instrument market is gloAccording to the company, the product is bally competitive but is experiencing only privately labeled but is manufactured and slow growth in most areas of the world, distributed under a license from Waters. according to The Market Book, a study of Perkin Elmer has expanded its marketthe five-year outlook for the worldwide ing force in South America and, says the analytical instrument market for 29 types company, will work harder to have a presof instruments commissioned by Centence in all those countries rather than a corn, Ltd., which handles advertising for targeted few; an expanded effort is also the ACS publications. The study evaluates underway in Asia. PE has not developed each instrument type, such as ICPMS, instruments just for these countries, says and analyzes its market size (in U.S. dolcompany spokesperson Merle Spiegel, lars) in the United States, Europe, the Pabut is producing cheaper systems to be cific Rim and the "rest of the world"; the marketed worldwide. She cited the rebook also looks at industrial segmentation cently introduced AAnalyst 100 atomic and market changes and trends absorption spectrometer, a less expensive Because the U.S. and European markets version of the 300 instrument. are relatively mature, the highest rates of Alan Newman growth are expected in the Pacific Rim and developing countries. Techniques aimed at the life sciences are anticipated to experiSPSS acquires ence the highest levels of annual growth. For example, MALDI-TOFMS is expected Jandel to grow at 23%, LC/MS at t5%, ,nd dC at SPSS, Inc., a multinational software com14-15% per year. Mature technologies, pri- pany emphasizing statistical applications marily elemental techniques, are projected software, has acquired Jandel Scientific, a to grow the least over the nextfiveyears, software provider best known for its barely keeping ahead of inflation. At the low SigmaPlot package. The Jandel acquisition

162 A Analytical Chemistry News & Features, March 1, 1997