Application of the Environmental Protection Agency`s data quality objective process to environmental monitoring quality control

Abstract

Application of the Environmental Protection Agency's Data Quality Objective Process to Environmental Monitoring Quality Control The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Data Quality Objectives (DQO) process was applied to two environmental monitoring networks for the purpose of optimizing field quality control sampling to give the highest quality monitoring data with minimal impact on resources. The DQO process, developed primarily to aid in cleanup and restoration activities, is a systematic approach to designing sampling and analysis programs with improved efficiency, cost savings, and measureable and traceable data quality. The two monitoring networks studied had not been subjected to the systematic review and analysis of the DQO process defined by the EPA.