50 Years Of Excellence


50th Anniversary Message from AIHA LAP

Greetings, AIHA LAP Accredited Labs and Stakeholders~

We are so proud to proclaim once again that 2024 marks AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs’ 50th Anniversary! At the 2024 LAP Annual Meeting that was held in April in Falls Church, VA, our staff, volunteers, site assessors and special invited guests officially celebrated this anniversary. We gave awards to Liberty Mutual Insurance Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, Bureau Veritas North America, ALS Environmental and the OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center Laboratory for being among the 10 outstanding IH laboratories accredited by AIHA in 1974 and still accredited by AIHA LAP today. We also honored Ronald Peters, who has trained site assessors for almost 25 years in addition to conducting assessments and has contributed so much to LAP over most of the program’s history.

As we move into the second half of the year, LAP and those 10 accredited laboratories will continue to celebrate with posts on social media. The laboratories themselves will host their own events. Check out the AIHA LAP LinkedIn page where you will find the 50th anniversary milestone video and other posts honoring our dedicated volunteers and site assessors who have been with us along this incredible journey.

We want to take this opportunity to thank and celebrate all AIHA LAP-accredited laboratories, and we look forward to engaging our laboratories, volunteers, and stakeholders as we continue to serve the laboratory community with excellence.

Happy 50th Anniversary, AIHA LAP!
Cheryl O. Morton | Executive Director

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR LABORATORIES

Scope PT Table Updated

Please be aware that Sigma Aldrich RTC – Millipore Sigma was removed from the scope/PT table for gravimetric under the miscellaneous core and compressed/breathing air testing as they no longer offer proficiency testing services. Please visit the AIHA LAP Proficiency Testing Programs web page to review the updated scope/PT table.

Application and Form 2 Updated

Please note the following updates were made to the following forms in the accreditation application, https://www.aihaaccreditedlabs.org/forms

Application Instructions 6A-6G

  • No screenshots unless of the entire attachment
  • Quality Manual added as optional attachment to benefit the site assessor’s review
  • Scored PT reports should be uploaded using the PT form on the DMS dashboard
  • Culturable reference removed under DE section as it is N/A

Form 2

  • Signature and date space created
  • PT round frequency requested


PT Report Submissions Reminder

All AIHA LAP accredited laboratories must continue to submit their scored PT reports through AIHA LAP’s DMS per Policy Module 6 (6.5.2). Laboratories have approximately 45 business days after PT results are received by the lab to submit the round information and documentation to LAP. Staff update PT records weekly, and submitted PT should display in a laboratory’s proficiency testing summary report within five business days of receipt. Please contact an accreditation specialist with any questions you have regarding PT report submission.

For Lead Labs: Upcoming Changes to the LSQR

As reported earlier, EPA issued a Federal Register notice on November 14, 2023, proposing updates to the agency’s Laboratory Quality System Requirements (LQSR). This document supports the Environmental Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program and is used as a basis for the ELLAP checklist. EPA said it is proposing these changes in order to implement its lead-based paint program, specifically the activities under 40 CFR part 745, which are being reconsidered in a separate action titled, “Reconsideration of the Dust-Lead Hazard Standards and Dust-Lead Post-Abatement Clearance Levels” (88 FR 50444, August 1, 2023) (FRL–8524–01–OCSPP). AIHA LAP submitted comments on the lead dust rule and the proposed changes to the LQSR.

We encourage accredited ELLAP labs to review both EPA proposals and take note of the changes in the dust lead reporting limits and the adoption of the ASTM E1583-17 standard. AIHA LAP suggests that ELLAP labs obtain and become familiar with ASTM E1583-17

If you have questions or need more information about these changes, please contact Cheryl Morton at cmorton@aiha.org or (703) 846-0789.

FDA Announcement About the LAAF Program

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that sufficient laboratory capacity has been reached for certain import-related food testing, specifically for mycotoxins, under the Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF) program. Owners and consignees of imported food subject to the LAAF regulation must use a LAAF-accredited laboratory to conduct covered import-related food testing starting on the applicable compliance date, which is 6 months from the date a specific analyte is listed on the LAAF Dashboard.

General information about the LAAF program can be found on the FDA website. 

Please reach out with any questions to FDALAAFInquiry@fda.hhs.gov.

AIHA LAP is recognized by the FDA for LAAF accreditation. For information on becoming accredited for LAAF under FoodLAP, please contact Lauren Schnack.

Presentation on Wall Deposits

AIHA LAP encourages its labs (particularly industrial hygiene labs using certain NIOSH methods) to review a recently updated presentation from Martin Harper on wall deposits. AIHA LAP reminds its laboratories of the importance of considering wall deposits in their analyses. Laboratories are encouraged to log on to DMS to download the Harper presentation from their document libraries. For more information about wall deposits, please contact Cheryl Morton.

Policy Change Suggestions

Historically, AIHA LAP has initiated an open solicitation period during which our accredited labs and stakeholders can submit suggestions for policy changes. These suggestions are then reviewed by our Policy Task Force and ultimately deliberated by the Analytical Accreditation Board (AAB). Please note, however, that policy change suggestions can be submitted at any time, and they will be considered by the AAB. Click here to submit a suggestion and contact Olena Bulgakova for more information.

LAP Annual Meeting

AIHA LAP hosted another successful annual meeting in Falls Church, VA with staff, site assessors and volunteers discussing many important topics and celebrating AIHA LAP’s 50th anniversary. The Analytical Accreditation Board (AAB) discussed important policy matters including the development of an AI policy and upcoming guidance on modified methods. Agenda topics in the joint session included the importance of sampling in IH testing, proposed changes to EPA’s dust lead rule, changes to the LQSR, and LAP’s ongoing projects on sampling, sensor testing and training. A big thank you to all those who joined us for the Annual Meeting. A video with photos from the meeting and the 50th Anniversary reception can be seen here: LAP Annual Meeting in April 2024

External Meetings

The following are summaries of other meetings that LAP staff participated in during the first half of the year:

  • In February, Drake McGregor, Taylor Adams, and Stephen Brunson attended and exhibited at Pittcon in San Diego, CA and generated lots of interest in AIHA LAP programs. The team improved the overall engagement on LAP social media and disseminated information to labs and stakeholders about the value of AIHA LAP accreditation.
  • In April, Cheryl Morton attended the Beryllium Health and Safety Committee meeting in Oak Ridge, TN where she and Chief Site Assessor Gary Griffin gave a presentation on the Beryllium Field Mobile Accreditation Program (module 2G).
  • Also in April, Drake McGregor attended the ASTM D22 Air Quality Committee meetings in Philadelphia, PA. He sat in on meetings discussing the EPA’s LQSR revision, asbestos and fiber counting using AI, and the determination of PFAS in indoor air environments, among other topics.
  • In May, Cheryl Morton attended AIHA Connect in Columbus, OH where she gave a presentation on opportunities for mobile and field accreditation.
  • On June 10, the entire AIHA LAP team joined its global counterparts to celebrate World Accreditation Day (WAD). This is a global initiative established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) to highlight the value of accreditation. This year’s theme was Accreditation: Empowering Tomorrow and Shaping the Future. For more information, check out AIHA LAP’s web page on WAD2024.


VOLUNTEER NEWS

Call for New AIHA LAP Volunteers

AIHA LAP is seeking qualified volunteers to fill positions on the Analytical Accreditation Board (AAB) and the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) to serve terms beginning in March 2025. The AAB is responsible for approving laboratories for accreditation and reaccreditation once site assessments are conducted. AAB members are also responsible for approving policy changes and participating on ad hoc task forces formed to address certain policy matters that may arise. TAP members advise the staff and AAB on technical laboratory matters and review accreditation packages for the major programs: industrial hygiene, environmental lead, environmental microbiology, food, unique scopes and beryllium field/mobile. Newly appointed volunteers will be required to attend LAP’s Annual Meeting in the first quarter of 2025.

AAB and TAP applications, which can be found on the LAP website, will be accepted until July 30, 2021.

For additional information, please contact Cheryl Morton.


SITE ASSESSOR NEWS

Tessie Gamber to Retire

AIHA LAP Site Assessor Tessie Gamber announced that she will retire as of July 31, 2024. Tessie joined the AIHA LAP Site Assessor ranks in 2008 covering the IH, microbiology, food, lead and unique scopes programs. The laboratories assessed by Tessie always provided us with positive feedback on her performance and the staff enjoyed working with her. Tessie was unable to attend the LAP Annual Meeting in April, so we did not officially celebrate her retirement, so the LAP staff and site assessors want to thank Tessie for her outstanding work and contributions to AIHA LAP for the past 16 years. We will miss her, but we wish Tessie all the best in her retirement.

More Site Assessors Sought

AIHA LAP continues to look for new assessors, whether available part-time or full-time. As an AIHA LAP site assessor, you will have opportunities to visit laboratory sites all over the world, auditing them to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and AIHA policies. AIHA LAP will provide the training needed to understand our policies and get started. Training meetings are hosted yearly. If you would like more information, please contact Cheryl Morton.

STAFF NEWS

AIHA LAP is pleased to announce that Accreditation and Technical Manager Drake McGregor has earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. Congratulations, Drake!

NEWLY ACCREDITED LABS

Congratulations to the following labs for becoming newly accredited by AIHA LAP or for having new AIHA LAP programs added to their scopes in the past year:

To review the full list of our newly accredited and reaccredited labs each month, please go to the AIHA LAP Directory.

August Synergist is the Lab Edition

This is a reminder that the August edition of the Synergist magazine is the laboratory edition. All AIHA LAP-accredited labs will receive a complimentary hardcopy of this edition, which will feature an article on LAP’s 50th anniversary and other laboratory-related articles.