TestAmerica Adds 8th Laboratory on Growing Department of Defense ELAP Accreditation List

TestAmerica’s North Canton, Ohio laboratory is now the eighth laboratory in the network to receive DoD ELAP accreditation under the Department of Defense Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP). The addition of the North Canton lab to TestAmerica’s lengthy list of accredited laboratories, further expands the analytical capacity available to DoD sector clientele, as well as continues to expand the number of specialty testing services available under this program.

North Canton laboratory Technical Director, Dr. Mark Bruce, along with several TestAmerica DoD ELAP accredited laboratories were instrumental in the development of the now commonly accepted laboratory practice for Incremental Sampling used in support of DoD site investigations across the nation. Additionally, the North Canton facility is a leading provider of testing services for the speciation of metallic elements, including mercury.

TestAmerica is the first laboratory network to be DoD ELAP accredited and includes locations in Savannah, GA, Arvada, CO (Denver), West Sacramento, CA, University Park, IL (Chicago), Earth City, MO (St. Louis), Tacoma, WA (Seattle), Knoxville, TN. Four additional TestAmerica facilities are actively pursuing accreditation, which will further add to TestAmerica’s extensive laboratory DoD support network.

On December 24, 2008, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense authorized the DoD wide program to accredit laboratories that perform testing in support of the Department of Defense. Among the objectives of the program were to promote interoperability among DoD components and to promote the collection of data of known and documented quality.

Effective October 1, 2009, laboratories seeking to perform testing in support of DoD Environmental Restoration (ER) programs must be accredited with the requirements of this program prior to providing testing support. TestAmerica has been a proponent of a unified accreditation program for years and contributed many enhancements to the DoD Quality Services Manual in Version 4.0 and more recently had its technical suggestions added to Version 4.1, which was released on April 23, 2009.

“TestAmerica has a long history of working cooperatively with the Department of Defense and its components in support of a wide variety of environmental projects and programs. We have held a variety of DoD accreditations over the years and have enjoyed playing an integral role in the development of the new unified accreditation standard,” said Larry Penfold, Quality Director for TestAmerica.

Information regarding the DoD program can be found at www.testamericainc.com/analyticalservices/DoD_QSM.htm

Or by contacting any one of the DoD EDQW points of contact (POC) listed below.
Ed Hartzog – U.S. Navy: Edward.Hartzog@navy.mil
Kevin Coates – U.S. Army: Kevin.H.Coates@usace.army.mil
Cornell Long – U.S. Air Force: Cornell.Long@brooks.af.mil

About TestAmerica

TestAmerica is the leading environmental testing firm in the United States, including 36 laboratories and 31 service centers. TestAmerica provides innovative technical expertise and comprehensive analytical testing services. Specialty analyses include source and ambient air, aquatic toxicity, explosives, specialty organics, dioxins, drinking water, sediments and tissues, emerging contaminants, radiochemistry and mixed waste testing.

TestAmerica affiliate companies include EMLab P&K, the leader in analytical microscopy and indoor air quality; QED Environmental Systems, Inc., the leading supplier of groundwater sampling equipment and remediation pumping systems; TestAmerica Drilling Corp., provider of innovative environmental and geotechnical drilling; and TestAmerica Air Emissions Corp. (METCO Environmental), specializing in air emissions testing. TestAmerica currently employs nearly 2,800 professionals dedicated to exceptional service and solutions for our clients’ environmental testing needs.

Contact Information

James H. Miller

Vice President

TestAmerica

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