An approach to the assessment of the quality of environmental monitoring data

This paper reports an approach to the assessment of the validity of environ mental monitoring data-a 'data filter'. The strategy has been developed thr ough the UK National Marine Analytical Quality Control (AQC) Scheme for app lication to data collected for the UK National Marine Monitoring Plan, alth ough the principles described are applicable more widely. The proposed data filter is divided into three components: Part A, 'QA/QC'-an assessment of the laboratory's practices in Quality Assurance/Quality Control; Part B, 'f itness for purpose'-an evaluation of the standard of accuracy that can be d emonstrated by activities in (A), in relation to the intended application o f the data; and Part C, the overall assessment on which data will be accept ed as usable or rejected as being of suspect quality. A pilot application o f the proposed approach is reported. The approach described in this paper i s intended to formalise the assessment of environmental monitoring data for fitness for a chosen purpose. The issues important to fitness for purpose are discussed and assigned a relative priority order on which to judge the reliability/usefulness of monitoring data.