Reprinted with permission from the Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 1988
By Laurie Hollman
Inquirer Trenton Bureau
TRENTON – A laboratory that tested drinking or waste water for about 100 public water suppliers, most of them in Burlington, Gloucester, Camden and Atlantic Counties, kept faulty records, falsified analyses, altered data and used inadequately trained personnel, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) alleged yesterday.
DEP says that Quality Control Laboratory Inc., 243 White Horse Pike, Audubon, is responsible for 85 violations of state environmental law. DEP officials announced yesterday that they have temporarily barred the company from submitting tests of public water systems to the state and have moved to impose a civil administrative penalty of $248,500.
Lee Greenwald, owner of the laboratory, denied the state's allegations.
"All of the allegations, step by step, are denied and because of litigation pending against the sources I'd rather not get into the details," he said.
Even as DEP Commissioner Richard T. Dewling was saying his agency's allegations "cast doubt" on numerous lab tests the company has done to check for the presence of hazardous chemicals in the water, he and other DEP officials took pains yesterday to assure people that the water they drink from public utilities in 10 South and Central New Jersey counties is safe.
"There is no imminent health threat," Dewling said. "However, DEP and citizens have made health and economic decisions based on questionable data provided by Quality Control Laboratory."
DEP was tipped off to problems at the laboratory by two former employees, according to Anthony J. McMahon, assistant director in charge of enforcement for DEP's division of environmental quality. DEP agents obtained a warrant, and, on July 10, 1987, confiscated business records at the laboratory.
Based on a review of the records from 1986 and 1987, DEP officials said they found "particular problems" with the laboratory's analyses of drinking water and waste water for nitrate, trace metals, pesticides and volatile organics.
Typical Classification of Drinking Water Systems Serving 250-3,000 People |
||
| Water Source | ||
|---|---|---|
| Treatment Technology Used | Groundwater | Surface Water |
| Disinfection only | Class I | --- |
| Iron removal | Class I or II | --- |
| Ion exchange softening | Class I or II | --- |
| Conventional surface water treatment | --- | Class II or III |
| Precipitation softening | Class I or II | Class II or III |
These are substances believed to be harmful over a long period, McMahon said. But since water suppliers have to conduct analyses at least twice a year, and since all positive results and some negative results are rechecked for verification, it is highly improbable that anyone's health suffered because of allegedly faulty testing, he said.
DEP spokesman Jim Staples said the levels of hazardous chemicals were so low that DEP officials felt they could afford to wait nearly 10 months while "our people retraced their footsteps, labwise" and built a case against Quality Control.
In reviewing Quality Control Laboratory's records, DEP officials said they found instances in which the laboratory allegedly:
Quality Control Laboratory owner Greenwald said all of these allegations were unfounded.
He suggested that DEP was trying to put him out of business "with the stroke of a pen" and that the state had taken the side of an ex-employee whom Greenwald said he was suing. He declined to elaborate.
The company, which is managed by Greenwald's son, Bruce, has been in the water-testing business for 15 years and employs about a dozen people, Greenwald said.
The laboratory has performed some or all of the lab testing for about 100 public water suppliers during the last two years. These suppliers, located primarily in Burlington, Gloucester, Camden and Atlantic Counties, include township water departments and municipal utilities authorities. In addition, the lab has conducted water tests for mobile home parks, a country club, the state prison at Leesburg, the state psychiatric hospital at Ancora and McGuire Air Force Base.
Some of the suppliers contacted yesterday said they had discontinued use of Quality Control Laboratory when problems with test results arose.
Others said they were unaware of the DEP action, although the agency said it was in the process of notifying local health agencies and public community water systems known to have used the laboratory.
Quality Control Laboratory had been certified, but in the wake of DEP's allegations, officials said yesterday that they had suspended certification. That makes it illegal for the laboratory to submit test results to DEP.
The laboratory has until May 24 to request a hearing on the certification suspension and the civil administrative penalty. If there is no request, suspension of the lab's DEP certification is final and the fine would be due. Otherwise, the temporary suspension will remain in effect until an administrative hearing is held.
Issue: People who operate public drinking water systems need to be qualified and have the necessary training.
How would you make sure that the drinking water system in your community is operated by a qualified person?
The system operator is the person on the front lines who oversees drinking water safety in a community. The U.S. Congress directed all states in 1996 to have a program for operator certification that meets certain baseline standards. The objective is to ensure that every drinking water system has a trained operator to perform all of the key functions necessary to protect the public health.
Many small systems may not be able to afford operator training. Therefore, Congress set aside funds to reimburse small communities (with fewer than 3,300 people) for the cost of operator training and certification.
The Ohio legislature in 1978 authorized the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to implement a program for the certification of water treatment plant operators and laboratories. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency cooperates with the Operator Training Committee of Ohio (OTCO) to provide training for water system and laboratory personnel.
| Operator Qualification and Training Requirements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class I | Class II | Class III | |
| Minimum Education | High school graduate or GED | ||
| Recommended training | OTCO Waer I | OTCO Water II | OTCO Water II |
| Experience varies with formal education for example, for high school graduate) |
12 months (12 months) |
12-36 months (36 months) |
12-60 months (60 months) |
| Testing | Difficulty increase with level of certification | ||
| Continuing education -- contact hours | 12 in 2 years | 24 in 2 years | 24 in 2 years |
| Renewal | $15 every two years | ||
| Testing fee | $45.00 | $55.00 | $65.00 |
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's rules established standards for training, experience, testing and continuing education, certification, and renewal of licenses. The level of certification required varies with system size and complexity. Laboratories and analysts are certified for specific analyses. The Operator Training Committee of Ohio and others offer courses on various drinking water topics throughout the state.