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Complete Article from Edition 48 APG eNewsletter
Article taken from INELA Press Release - Jerry Parr
On November 6, 2006, a giant step towards achieving a long-term goal of the environmental laboratory and monitoring communities to have a national accreditation program was realized. After years of an evolving program under the auspices of the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) and the Institute for National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation (INELA), both Boards of Directors took action to form The NELAC Institute (TNI). The purpose of the organization is to foster the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality through an open, inclusive, and transparent process that is responsive to the needs of the community.
The actions taken on November 6th to form TNI were the result of years of hard work to create a national program through NELAC, years of hard work by INELA to create a consensus process for the development of accreditation standards, and months of intense exploration by a Partnership Planning Team (PPT) representing both entities that culminated in this new organization. As reflected in the new name, The NELAC Institute has combined the heritage of NELAC with the consensus process of INELA into one organization dedicated to the vision that all entities generating environmental data in the United States be accredited to a national standard. A report containing the details of the hard work done was prepared by the PPT, which contains the series of recommendations made to form TNI, the Bylaws of TNI, a description of the committees and programs within TNI, and much more. This report can be found on the NELAC website (www.epa.gov/nelac), the INELA website (www.inela.org), and the new TNI website!!!
Please bookmark the new website at www.nelac-institute.org where information about TNI, the Board of Directors, the committees, membership, and more can be found. Over the course of the next couple of months, information currently residing on respective websites for NELAC and INELA will be moved to this new home and those sites redirected to the new one. The NELAC Institute encourages anyone interested in furthering the goals of the organization to apply to join one of its committees by completing an application form found on the TNI website.
Mark your calendars now!!!! The first Annual Meeting of The NELAC Institute (TNI) will be held in Denver, Colorado from January 29 - February 2, 2007 at the Westin Tabor Center. During this Forum on Laboratory Accreditation, the opening sessions will feature details on the structure, governance, and programs of TNI and followed by committee sessions to discuss the progress towards implementing the programs described in the PPT report.
This is a very exciting time towards the ultimate success of a single national laboratory accreditation program. So, get involved and do not miss out on the opportunity to be part of the future!!!
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