Accrediting Authorities

Review the NELAC Accrediting Authorities

Benefits of NELAP

When fully implemented, NELAP should provide benefits to all sectors of the environmental community.

Commercial Laboratories

• Replace redundant and often contradictory inspections with comprehensive standardized inspections
• Improve acceptability of data to regulators and customers
• Enhance the laboratory's ability to compete internationally
• Significantly reduce the substantial indirect costs associated with redundant accreditation activities

Industry/Municipal In-House Laboratories

• Establish credibility of data
• Improve acceptability of data to regulatory agencies

• Establish a uniform set of standards by which environmental data is produced across the various states, agencies and programs thereby promoting comparability and defensibility
• Be more cost effective, through the use of data by multiple stakeholders and the reduction in the number of assessments performed by federal accrediting authorities
• Present greater opportunities for quality improvements. The NELAC standards development process encourages the pooling of expertise from multiple agencies, states and various groups in the private sector. This larger scope of expertise has strengthened the quality concepts and practices upon which the standards are based. Additional requirements for laboratory assessments will facilitate the expansion of the scope of accreditation programs and improve the abilities of the assessors, resulting in better assessments and ultimately better laboratories
• Reduce the amount of effort needed to define project expectations and requirements. With an ever increasing number of laboratories and states participating in NELAP, baseline expectations for environmental projects will become more constant resulting in more efficient communications regarding Data Quality Objectives and project deliverables

Laboratories Seeking NELAC Accreditation

The NELAC structure requires a laboratory to seek accreditation first from the state of residence. If that state is not a NELAP-approved accrediting authority, the laboratory may seek accreditation from any other state NELAP-approved accrediting authority. Likewise, if the state program does not grant accreditation for a particular program or type of analysis, the laboratory may seek accreditation, for those areas outside the resident state's scope, from any other NELAP-approved state accrediting authority. Some states may elect to accredit out-of-state laboratories through the use of third party assessor bodies.