National Voluntary Laboratory

Because laboratory testing often applies to articles in international trade, international accreditation is often sought. There are many international accrediting agencies in existence. Two examples are the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (AALA). NIST administers what is called the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). 

In the US, the NIST administers the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), which complies with ISO 9002, and with details available at ... 

Each country has its own accreditation body for laboratories. In the United States, NIST is administering the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) [109]. The criteria for accreditation used by NVLAP is consistent with ISO Guide 25, which involves the following items (1) quality system, (2) staff competence and training, (3) facilities and equipment, (4) calibration and traceability, (5) test methods and procedures, (6) recordkeeping, and (7) test reports. 

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), administered by NIST. 

NVLAP National Voluntary Laboratory Accredi- OM optical microscopy... 

The personnel monitors normally used for individual monitoring must be processed by a dosimetry processor holding personnel dosimetry accreditation from the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the type of radiation or radiations included in the NVLAP program that most closely approximates the exposure characteristics for the individual wearing the dosimeter. 

Third-party accreditation is now increasing in popularity. Some laboratories now have quality systems registered to ISO 9000 series standards, and third-party accreditation for laboratories based on ISO 17025 has now become widely used through the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the A2LA scheme of the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. 

Until 1990 the EPA maintained a Hst of chemicals suitable for potable water treatment ia the United States. Siace then the entire question of certification and standards has been turned over to a group of organi2ations headed by the National Sanitation Eoundation, which has issued voluntary standards. As of January 1992, standards had been issued for most of the principal inorganic products, but only for two polymers, poly(DADMAC) and Epi-DMA (epichl orohydrin dimethyl amine) polymers (78). Certifications for commercial products meeting specified standards are issued by the National Sanitation Eoundation, Underwriter Laboratories, and Risk Eocus/Versar (79). 

Fig. 1 Traceability system for the determination of the most important diagnostic markers in human body fluids in Germany. The clinical reference laboratories at the intermediate level providing calibration means to the routine medical laboratories are accredited as calibration laboratories in the framework of the German Calibration Service (DKD) and are firmly linked to the national metrology institute, PTB, by comparison measurements carried out on actual laboratory samples. Accreditation is in part required by the Federal Physicians Council (BAK) or is voluntary. The traceability system is still under development...

Several types of data are routinely collected related to infectious disease surveillance, including morbidity, mortality, and health indicator data (CDC, 1992). Each state has requirements for mandatory reporting by health care providers and facilities, including laboratories, of cases of notifiable infectious diseases. There is a national notifiable disease list as well, for which reporting is voluntary, with data compiled through the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (CDC, 2004d, 2006). 

The most common route of exposure to NAC is (voluntary) inhalation through the respiratory tract. Although not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, it may be given intravenously in emergency situations. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health survey conducted between 1981 and 1983, over 30 000 workers in the United States are exposed to NAC on a daily basis. Over two-thirds of those people are inhalation therapists and clinical laboratory technicians, with the remaining majority in some type of medical profession. 

An early mover in voluntary initiatives was that of Responsible Care begun in Canada in 1987 to develop the principles on which the chemical industry could base its product development from laboratory to disposal, to improve its health, safety and environmental performance (see Table 1). That was taken up by the International Council for Chemical Associations in 1991 and now covers 87 per cent of global chemical production in 42 countries. Mainly adopted by the larger multi-nationals, the Responsible Care concept needs to be extended to more small and medium sized enterprises [3],... 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) oversees a large number of passive infectious disease surveillance systems. These systems are based on voluntary collaboration with state and local health departments, which in turn depend on physician-initiated reports of specific diseases or information from state health laboratories regarding bacterial or viral isolates. The best known system is the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, which the CDC describes as the backbone of collaborative reporting procedures involving clinicians, state, and local health departments, and the CDC. Clinicians, hospitals, and laboratories... 

A voluntary industry consensus standard, developed by the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) in 1999, that specifies the requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) that is capable of visually signaling the user s presence. Eor a garment to be labeled American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Class 1, 2, 3, or E it is required to first be ANSI/ISEA 107 certified. This certification requires many tests by an accredited laboratory to make sure that the garment lives up to the requirements of the standard. Some tests/requirements include ... 

Standard methods can be adopted as recommended on a voluntary basis by any laboratory around the world. Governments can decide to incorporate existing standards into their national standards. 

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