Accreditation at the US EPA-NEIC. National Enforcement Investigations Center.

Abstract

The US Environmental Protection Agency-National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC) of Denver, Colorado is the specialty technical arm of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) within the US EPA. NEIC is a center for technical support nationwide to state, local, tribal, and federal environmental enforcement and compliance assurance programs. NEIC is a source of expertise for technical analysis, compliance monitoring, engineering evaluations, forensic laboratory activities, information management, computer forensics, and witness testimony. Effective 1 February 2001, NEIC was granted accreditation for overall environmental measurement activities that include field sampling, field measurements and monitoring, and laboratory measurements. NEIC became the first and only environmental forensic center in the United States to be granted this type of accreditation. The accreditation criteria incorporates nationally and internationally accepted forensic and quality management standards. Awarded by the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC), the NEIC Accreditation Standard was developed for conducting environmental measurements while adhering to forensic requirements in specific areas. The NEIC Accreditation Standard is based on ISO/IEC Guide 25 and ANSI/ASQC E4-1994, and it references specific aspects of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) Manual.