The Department of Environmental Protection Monday announced it will collect a $600,000 penalty from Eurofins, QC, for violations related to falsified and mishandled discharge water tests and results at their lab in Southampton, Bucks County.
“DEP relies on accredited, third-party laboratories to conduct testing and ensure that regulated entities are complying with state laws and regulations,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Falsifying records and mishandling samples undermines the trust that DEP places in labs like EQC, and we will not hesitate to penalize labs that do not meet our expectations.”
DEP first discovered possible violations in December 2016 while conducting an audit of EQC’s whole effluent toxicity testing (WETT) results, which are used to determine compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations.
Testing results reviewed in the audit found sample results that appeared to be photocopies of previous data sheets, with minor edits made. The lab’s accreditation expired in February 2017 and was not renewed.
After being alerted to the questionable results, EQC hired a third-party auditor to review records from the facility. That audit found hundreds of cases of manipulated or falsified data, as well as hundreds of missing records, and cases where samples were mishandled.
For more information on the regulation of laboratories, visit DEP’s Laboratory Accreditation Program webpage. Questions should be directed to Neil Shader, DEP Press Secretary, 717-787-1323 or send email to: nshader@pa.gov.
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