The Association of Public Health Laboratories Environmental Laboratory Program: First Year Success

Pamela Bernard MA, Environmental Laboratory Program Manager

In the spring of 2007, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Environmental Laboratory Program convened the first-ever State Environmental Laboratory Conference during the APHL Annual Meeting.  With well over 350 participants, environmental laboratory issues and concerns were shared with a diverse audience. Some of the meeting highlights included sessions on State Environmental Laboratory Profiles and Accreditation, Laboratories Critical to the Nation’s Security and Protection of Public Health and the Environment, Managing Environmental and Biomonitoring Data for Chemical Terrorism Response, and Planning for Radiological Emergencies -- The View from the Lab. Participants received up-to-date information from the Environmental Protection Agency on many of their important and upcoming environmental laboratory programs, i.e., the Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA), Regional Drinking Water Lab Response Plans, Electronic Data Exchange programs (SEDD) Staged Electronic Data Deliverables, and the Environmental Laboratory Response Network (eLRN).

The State Environmental Laboratory Conference was a major success for APHL, whose Environmental Laboratory Program is still in its infancy. In 2006 APHL was awarded a cooperative agreement with the EPA to serve as a point of contact between the agency and state environmental laboratories. To this end, APHL serves as a home base for state environmental laboratories and promotes the role of state environmental laboratories in research and development, evaluation and validation of technology and procedures. As part of this cooperative agreement APHL formed an Environmental Laboratory Subcommittee in May of 2006. One of the first duties of the Environmental Laboratory Subcommittee was to conduct the first-ever survey of state environmental laboratories to assess laboratory capability and capacity, identify needs and establish benchmarks for future comparison.

Issued in May 2007, the State Environmental Laboratories: Capability and Capacity survey results delineate the differences between state environmental laboratories and the need for more resources. Fifty-eight laboratories from over 37 states participated in the survey. Results indicate disparities in emergency preparedness, specifically chemical and radiological terrorism preparedness. Many laboratories lack the necessary instrumentation and training needed to respond to emergency scenarios. However, most laboratories have relationships with key federal agencies essential to communication efforts during an emergency scenario. The results of the survey on funding, instrumentation, data management, workforce, training, accreditation/certification, and relationships and communication serves as a starting point for the Environmental Laboratory Program at APHL to address the strengths and weakness of environmental laboratories.

With help from APHL’s National Laboratory Training Network (NLTN) and the EPA, and as a result of the survey, the Environmental Laboratory Program began efforts to expand training and educational opportunities for environmental laboratory personnel. Some of the recent and future projects include an August 2007 web cast educational on EPA’s Water Laboratory Alliance, a September 2007 week long Radioanalytical Training Course, and two workshops in October 2007 on Preventing Improper Environmental Laboratory Practices and Advanced Topics in Quality Assurance.

APHL has had a busy and exciting year expanding its Environmental Laboratory Program. On the horizon are many more activities and programs geared towards addressing the needs of state environmental laboratories. Support of EPA’s WLA and eLRN, technology transfer, laboratory capacity building, and enhanced communication efforts are just some of the future projects. The Second State Environmental Laboratory Conference will be held in St. Louis, MO May 18-21, 2008, more information is available at http://www.aphl.org/conferences/08Conferences/08AM/Pages/2008AnnualMeeting.aspx.

If the first year is any indication of the next, APHL is sure to roll up its sleeves and work towards promoting quality environmental laboratory practice.