News
Robert Stephens finds that NELAC has gotten into the issues.
such as additional analytes or performance testing. "If [the supplemental standards] grow too much, it defeats NELAC," he said. According to Stephens, fees are another potential obstacle because they could vary from state to state. Laboratories registering in a low-fee state would have the advantage of reciprocal accreditation in higher-fee states. NELAC also needs to accommodate small laboratories, including one-person operations, which could easily be swamped by the duties and economics of accreditation. Even if all those obstacles are conquered, adoption of NELAC guidelines by federal agencies, states and municipalities could take years 'Time is not on our side" Robert Perciaspse assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water told NELAC delegates "We should have done this 10 years ago " NELAC is scheduled to meet next July in Dallas TX where it is expected to vote on manv'of the remaining issues
Environmental reference materials update The push for certified environmental reference materials seems at times to be progressing at a steady pace and at others to be dragging its heels. At the request of the Chemical Reference Materials Manufacturers Association (CRMMA), ACS has entered the fray surrounding environmental reference materials and has formed a subcommittee of the Committee on Analytical Reagents that will develop specifications and analytical protocols for neat standard reference materials. According to Paul Bouis, chairman of the ACS com528 A
mittee, the subcommittee's work is progressing satisfactorily. In July, the subcommittee met at the Waste Testing and Quality Assurance (WTQA) Symposium in Washington, DC, and elected Michael Re of Radian International, a representative of CRMMA as cochair; a second co-chair, chosen from the ACS representatives, will be elected at a later date. According to Bouis, the membership of the subcommittee is composed in large part of members from the industry that produces these reference materials. Bouis estimates that specifications may ultimately be written for 500-1000 reagents, but rather than give each reagent its own entry, the subcommittee will approach the task in terms of classes, such as polychlorinated biphenyls or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and will recommend using a unified GC procedure for each class. At thistime,the subcommittee is focusing only on specifications for the neat materials used as starting materials for environmental reference standards, which will serve to referee disputes rather than as a prerequisite to claiming ACS standard grade. Bouis is optimistic that a portion of the specifications will be ready to appear on the ACS homepage for comments in early 1997 Originally, CRMMA requested assistance from ACS in developing organic standards only, because members of the inorganic standards subcommittee of CRMMA's Product Certification and Specification Committee had been making adequate headway. However, Bouis commented, the ACS reagent book should include both organic and inorganic standards as a public service. Also meeting at WTQA, members of CRMMA voted to send drafts of position papers on the minimum specifications for environmental inorganic and organic reference standards to their lawyer for review. Before committing to submit the documents to the EPA, the members plan to vote again on the lawyer-reviewed recommendations. Members of the CRMMA Product Certification and Specification Committee noted that these points had been hammered out for the most part at Pittcon in Chicago but could not proceed without the approval of the general membership. The position papers contain 10 items that CRMMA members agree should be on a certificate of analysis for environmental reference material. According to CRMMA members, the organization believes that these papers fulfill CRMMA's obligation
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, September 1, 1996
to the EPA but does not know how the agency will respond. Since the end of EPA's certified reference materials program, the future of environmental certified reference materials has been in limbo. The EPA distributed the materials for many years but turned to cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with five manufacturers when the program became too costly. Dogged by complaints, a lawsuit, and an unfavorable report by EPA's Office of the Inspector General, EPA canceled the contracts and allowed the CRADAs to lapse {Anal. Chem. 1994 66 868A-872A)) A NIST representative told CRMMA members that NIST plans to proceed with a program to certify manufacturers in the production of reference materials. CRMMA has appointed a committee to work with NIST in the development of procedures for the program.
EPA looks to "externalize" PE program Call it a sign of the times. EPA announced in July that it could no longer afford its well-regarded water performance evaluation (PE) program and proposed eight options to "externalize" the program {Federal Register, 61, July 18,1996, pp. 3746471). The options ranged from oversight of private or state PE sample providers by agencies such as EPA or NIST to a program with no oversight or accreditation. Regardless of the option chosen, EPA or a third party would still set national standards, and a database on laboratory performance would be maintained. Commerits on the options cire due this month and according to an EPAtimetablea final decision will be made by this November The PE program has been in effect since the 1970s and serves to check the competency of laboratories conducting environmental measurements in support of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. More than 9000 laboratories participate in the program that tnvolves being scored on the analysis results of blind samples with known analyte concentrations. Currently EPA aasumes sll the eosts of producing and distributing the PE study kits, which Wendy Blake-Coleman of EPA's Office of ^^ater estimates runs $4.5 million annually. In 1994 when EPA began to discuss ways to change the program, the agency initially hoped to gain Congressional ap-
data on a quarterly basis, and conducts industry surveys. Each company, regardless of size, has just one vote within the association. However, says Duff, "I can't remember a time that something has come down to a vote." Members take turns serving on the 15-member board of directors, which guides the organization. "There is a conscious effort to get new blood on the board." "We have about 75 members," says Duff, "but in a way that [number] has been a struggle—members keep buying each other, and there are consolidations." At the same time, a number of well-known leaders within the industry have retired, moved on, or been replaced in recent A single voice years. Duff calls these changes "the norIn the marketplace, analytical equipmal evolution of business," pointing out ment manufacturers compete fiercely with each other, but within the Analyti- that all businesses today face consolidation and downsizing. In fact, Riccardo Pigcal Instrument Association (AIA), the trade association of instrument manu- liucci, who resigned last year from his position as president and chief operating facturers, member companies speak with a single voice. That voice carries a officer at Perkin Elmer W3s scheduled to chair AIA's board of directors this lot of weight, and current efforts by Allen Lauer of Varian Associates one of AIA to harmonize how instruments the few "old-timers" in AIA these days "talk" to each other and to alter how replaced him EPA mandates analytical measurements could have significant impacts on many aspects of analytical chemisAIA initiatives try At the same time changes within One area in which AIA has taken the lead AIA are a good barometer of new d.i is the analytical data interchange (ANDI) rections in the instrument business program for standardizing communicaThe association is headquartered in tions between analytical instruments. Alexandria, VA, near Washington, DC. Modeled after the personal computer AIA was formally launched in 1988, business, ANDI would allow products although its history extends back to from different vendors to intercommuni1917, according to executive director cate. ANDI protocols developed by indusMichael Duff. During World War I the try workgroups are now available for chroUnited States was cut off from Germatography and MS. An IR spectroscopy many, the dominant scientific equipprotocol is undergoing beta testing; and ment manufacturer at the time. U.S. work is under way on an update to the companies suddenly had an important chromatography protocol, which was remarket largely to themselves. 'They leased in 1992. wanted to maintain that business, so A newer initiative has brought AIA they formed an association," says Duff. into the political arena and is targeted at legislatively forcing EPA to adopt perforThe Scientific Apparatus Makers' mance-based methods for environmental Association (SAMA) was formed and over the years grew to include a range testing, a concept that would provide testing laboratories with greater flexibilof members, from manufacturers of ity in choosing methods for analysis. beakers to spectrometers to process control equipment. By 1988, it was ap- This flexibility is expected to speed the introduction of newer analytical methods parent that these diverse manufacturing communities had little in common, and instrumentation. says Duff. SAMA slipped quietly into With support from AIA, Representative the background as a holding company, Bill Baker (R-CA) has prepared a draft bill and more focused associations such as that directs EPA to implement perforAIA came to the fore. mance-based monitoring methods in "all Today AIA runs three annual meet- EPA regions, program offices, and states" ings for its members, provides market (Anal. Chem., 1996, 68, 8, A).
AIA executive director Michael Duff likes working with bright guys who are running growing businesses.
The bill was introduced into Congress on July 25 (H.R. 3906). In June, hearings on the subject were held before a joint session of the House Subcommittees on Energy and on Environment and Technology. John Urh of CETAC Technologies, in testifying for AIA, argued, "Performance-based methods will increase laboratory productivity and improve the quality of testing and data, speed decision making based on monitoring, and reduce overall environmental monitoring and compliance costs." Duff says that the performancebased monitoring proposal has received some bipartisan interest within Congress and favorable reviews from some EPA staff. "I certainly see progress within EPA," he reports. Given the lateness of the Congressional session and the lack of a sponsor in the Senate, it is unlikely that Baker's bill will get far this year. However, Duff argues that pressing the legislation now "holds EPA's feet to the fire." Duff expects that as AIA's membership grows and evolves, the association will include more representation of analytical products and services for biomolecular analysis. This trend follows moves within the industry toward new markets in life sciences, as well as growing revenue from analytical support services. Duff takes these changes in stride and says that it gives him "a chance to work with some bright guys who are running growing businesses."
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News
proval to fund the currently structured program with fees for services, according to Blake-Coleman. However, elections that year brought Congressional control to Republicans intent on shrinking the size of the federal government. "It hasn't seemed like the political time to do it," says Blake-Coleman. Nevertheless, all the options being considered would also lead to fees being charged to the private and public laboratories that use PE samples. EPA officials were still gathering data on costs and could not estimate fees for the various options. That, however, would be one consideration in choosingfromthe options, according to the agency. Moreover, EPA expects that meeting demands will require several suppliers of PE study kits, and that raises questions about the quality of those samples. Thus, EPA has proposed requirements for national consistency among PE study providers and has suggested that the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (see previous story) set standards and handle PE supplier accreditation. However, don't look for immediate changes in the PE program. According to Blake-Coleman, full implementation will probably take at least two years, no matter which option is chosen.
New NIST SRMs An improved version of human serum SRM 909b now contains certified values for triglycerides and "elevated" concentrations of compounds found in the old SRM. Certified values are provided in the SRM for 13 organic and inorganic blood constituents; noncertified values are also provided for seven other constituents. The SRM contains sik bottles of freeze-dried serum, three with normal levels and three with the elevated levels, and six bottles of high-purity water. NIST, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is also offering a standard reference for fatty acids and cholesterol measurements in food. The SRM consists of four 15-g bottles of frozen, blended foods and also provides data for proximates, including protein, moisture, total fat, ash, carbohydrate, and calories. For more information, contact the NIST Standard Reference Materials Program, 204 Engineering Mechanics Bldg., Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 (301-9756776; e-mail
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Varian acquires Dynatech Precision Sampling Varian Associates has announced that it has acquired the assets of Dynatech Precision Sampling, a subsidiary of Dynatech Corporation that manufactures autosampling products for gas and liquid chromatographic applications. The new group will be integrated into Varian's chromatography systems business in Walnut Creek, CA The purchase price was not disclosed.
PerSeptive appoints president PerSeptive Biosystems has appointed John F. Smith to the position of president. Smith has served on the board of directors for PerSeptive for two years and will continue as a director. Prior to that, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer at Digital Equipment Corporation until his retirement in 1993. Noubar Afeyan will continue to serve as chairman and CEO.
PE buys Zoogen Perkin Elmer Applied Biosystems has entered the genetic testing services market with the acquisition of Zoogen, Inc., a California-based company that performs parentage and avian sex testing, genetic screening, and breeding consultation to owners and breeders of domestic, exotic, and farm animals. The company will be called PE Zoogen and will be operated as a business unit within PE Applied Biosystems. Joy Halverson, Zoogen's founder and head of research and development, will continue in that role and Mike Miille chief executive, will continue to run dayto-day operations.
Wiley acquires VCH
Web s i g h t i n g s Bel-Art—http://www.bel-art.com; features product profiles, an electronic product index, a monthly word game, and links to distributors' Internet sites. Bioanalytical Systems—http:// www.bioanalytical.com; features product information and ordering instructions, a company profile, employment opportunities, and links to other chemistry-related Internet sites. ChemFinder—http://chemfinder. camsoft.com; searches chemical information by name, formula, molecular weight, CAS registry number, and molecular structure and provides basic physical property information along with links to other Internet sites that have more information about each particular compound. Richardson Grating Laboratory—http://gratinglab.com; includes a description of the properties and uses of diffraction gratings, a catalog of products and services, and a list of technical publications. Supelco—http://www.supelco.sial. com/supelco.html; contains product and technical information. Whatman—http://www.whatman. com; includes a company history and contact information; details on new products and promotions; BCC68S to references archives and newsletters; and links to product guides distributors sales representatives and the laboratory sales site
PEOPLE
Brown to receive chemometrics award
John Wiley & Sons (New York) anSteven D. Brown, associate professor of nounced in June that it has purchased a chemistry at the 90% interest in the VCH Publlshing Group University of Dela(Weinheim, Germany), a publisher of sciware, will receive entific and technical material, from the thefirstEAS Award Pallas Investment Group and the Society for Achievements in of German Chemists (GDCh). The GDCh Chemometrics, will continue to oversee the content of the which recognizes VCH chemistry publishing program, individuals who which includes Angewandtt Chemie, Che- have made significant contributions to the mische Berichte, and Liebigs Annalen. development or application of chemometrics.
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, September 1, 1996
