QAHandbookVolII,Section10RevisionNo1Date1208.docVIP

10.0 Quality Control As described in Section 3, any data collection process that provides an estimate of a concentration contains uncertainties related to spatial/temporal variability (population) and the measurement process. DQOs define the data quality needed to make a correct decision an acceptable percentage of the time. Data quality is defined through quantification of the following data quality indicators. Representativeness - the degree in which data accurately and precisely represent a characteristic of a population, parameter variation at a sampling point, a process condition, or an environmental condition. Precision - a measure of mutual agreement among individual measurements of the same property usually under prescribed similar conditions. This is the random component of error. Precision is estimated by various statistical techniques using some derivation of the standard deviation. Bias - the systematic or persistent distortion of a measurement process which causes error in one direction. Bias will be determined by estimating the positive and negative deviation from the true value as a percentage of the true value. Detectability - The determination of the low range critical value of a characteristic that a method specific procedure can reliably discern. Completeness - a measure of the amount of valid data obtained from a measurement system compared to the amount that was expected to be obtained under correct, normal conditions. Data completeness requirements are included in the reference methods (40 CFR Pt. 50). Comparability - a measure of confidence with which one data set can be compared to another. Measurement quality objectives (MQOs) identify the quality control samples and the acceptance criteria for those samples that will allow one to quantify the data quality indicators. Data quality assessments (DQAs) are the statistical assessments that determine if the DQOs are met and to provide descriptions of data uncertainty. If the DQOs are not