Use of Third-party Accreditation to Assess Regulatory Compliance

Oral Presentation

Prepared by S. Siders
Illinois EPA, 1021 North Grand Avenue East, MC #4, Springfield, IL, 62794-9276, United States


Contact Information: scott.siders@illinois.gov; 217-785-5163


ABSTRACT

Regulatory agencies have developed third-party programs to assess whether laboratories are in compliance with regulatory standards and other requirments. This requires agencies to take on new roles on overseeing and coordinating these third-parties. A third-party program is just one of many regulatory approaches that an agency might adopt to determine compliance assessments. There are several reasons supporting the increasing use of third-party accreditation. However, third-party accreditation raises a host of important questions. The Administrative Conference of the United States has set forth a recommendation to assist agencies in determining whether and how to establish a third-party program to assess regulatory compliance. This recommendation can aid both federal and state agencies with policy decisions on the use of third-party NELAP accreditation that is being developed within The NELAC Institute (TNI).