LAC 48:V.8053. Sample Collection, Handling and Preservation

A. Laboratories which have received certification or are seeking certification to perform any of the required chemical analyses, shall have procedures for sample collection, handling and preservation techniques that meet the requirements in Chapter IV of the USEPA Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water. B. Samples requiring preservation shall be preserved at the time of collection. A laboratory that has interim approval or certification shall accept only samples which are properly labeled, and for which there is reasonable assurance that they have been collected, preserved, processed, stored and transported in such a manner as to identity and stability of the sample with respect to the requested tests or analyses. If the identity/stability of the sample has not been assured, the laboratory report shall clearly state that the result may be invalid due to an unsatisfactory sample. C. All samples requiring thermal preservation shall be considered acceptable if the arrival temperature of a representative sample container is within the method's specified range. Additional acceptance criteria are specified in the approved reference method(s) specified in 40 CFR Parts 141 and 143 for the analysis of drinking water parameters and in the USEPA Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water. The laboratory must measure and record the temperature of the sample when it arrives when temperature preservation is required by the method.