A mandatory quality control section will be added to test methods either approved or under development in ASTM Committee D19 on Water. “Quality control procedures are critical for both the analyst and the laboratory manager to validate test method performance and consistency,” said committee chair Nathalie “Dee” Perkins, a business development manager with The Bionetics Corporation, Newport News, Va. “Without quality control the results of a test method are, at best, questionable and, at worse, invalid. In essence, quality control lets both the analyst and the laboratory manager sleep at night, not to mention the individual who must make decisions based on the data generated by the test method.”

Revisions began last January with ASTM Standard D 1252, Standard Test Methods for Chemical Oxygen Demand (Dichromate Oxygen Demand) of Water. They are currently being reviewed. “This important activity will continue over the next five years as test methods are revised during the normal reapproval process,” Perkins said. “Therefore, the committee feels it is imperative that all users of our test methods be involved in this activity. To that end, the locations and dates for our next four meetings are: June 25-29, 2000, at the Sheraton El Conquistador, Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 14-18, 2001 at the Holiday Inn, Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort, Cocoa Beach, Fla., June 24-28, 2001, at the Crown Plaza, Richmond, Va., and Jan. 20-24, 2002, at the Holiday Inn, Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort, Cocoa Beach, Fla.

“All interested parties are encouraged to join the committee and participate in the balloting process even if they are unable to attend the meetings.”

Committee D19 develops standards for:

--Water sampling and analysis, waterborne materials and wastes, water-formed deposits and fluvial sediments;
--Surface-water hydraulics and hydrologic measurements;
--The determination of performance of materials and products used to modify water characteristics; and
--The determination of water corrosivity or deposit-forming properties.

These standards are published in Volumes 11.01 and 11.02 of the Annual Book of ASTM Standards and are available through Customer Service (610/832-9585) or the Web site (www.astm.org).

Technical questions may be directed to Nathalie “Dee” Perkins, The Bionetics Corporation, 11833 Canon Blvd., Suite 100, Newport News, VA 23606-2589 (757/873-0900, ext. 237). Committee D19 meets June 24-28 in Tucson, Ariz. For meeting or membership details, contact Committee D19 manager Bruce Noe, ASTM (610/832-9719). //

Copyright 2000, ASTM