ESTABLISHMENT OF A QUALITY SYSTEM FOR THE IAEA’S CLEAN LABORATORY

A keystone in the IAEA environmental sampling program has been the establishment and operation of a Class 100 clean laboratory for the handling, analysis, and management of environmental samples. In order to ensure that the analytical results produced by the laboratory and the samples that are distributed to the Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) meet the requirements for high-sensitivity analyses (including precision and accuracy), a quality system has been developed and training provided to the clean laboratory staff and management of the Agency’s Safeguards Analytical Laboratory. Elements of a quality system for the clean laboratory include the identification and documentation of self-audit practices, work practices and procedures in an ultraclean environment, maintenance practices, environmental sampling quality goals, review and acceptance testing, and documentation and records. The quality system for the clean laboratory has also been designed to be ISO 9000 compliant. This paper describes the fundamental elements of the quality system being established for the IAEA clean laboratory and its operation.