QUALITY ASSURANCE - 4: COMPLYING WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.

Over the past decade, the U. S. government has enacted a number of laws in the areas of safety, health and the environment. Many of these regulations require that samples be taken and analyzed. In most plants, the control laboratory is the only chemical laboratory at the site, thus, this work has fallen to the lot of the quality-assurance department - in many cases, its personnel will also be assigned to taking the required samples. Additionally, there may also be automatic monitoring instruments for air or water that will require attention - changing charts, checking and calibrating. A brief review of legislations regulating health and environmental conditions in and out of chemical plants is followed by a detailed discussion of the following subjects - Complying with the regulations; analysis of water and wastes; sampling and sample containers; recordkeeping.