vv EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
DIRECTIVE NUMBER: 9242 6-08
TITLE: TQM and Quality Assurance in Superfund
APPROVAL DATE: DEC 5 1990
EFFECTIVE DATE: DEC 5 1990
ORIGINATING OFFICE: Office of Solid Waste
0 FINAL
D DRAFT
STATUS:
REFERENCE (other documents):
OSWER OSWER OSWER
fE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE Di
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United Stiles Environment*! ProitajonTo^Tcv"
U/..K-—.x, Q£ 20*60
OSWER Directive Initiation Request
2. Originator Information
£242.6-08
Mail Cod*
OS-240
Nun* o< Contact Parson
ane Geuder
3. TiUe~
TQM and Quality Assurance in Superfund
Office
OERR/OPM
Ttlepnone Code
245-4027
«. Summary ol Directive (include one< JUtement o( purpose) ~~~~"~~"~~"~"—"•
States management commitment to the TQM concept as applied to the Quality
Assurance Program and development of data quality objectives. Outlines
principles for applying TQM procedures.
QA/QC; analytical.support; data management; TQM
5«. Does Trwj Oirtctivc Superteot Pntviou* Direcuve(j)?
I No
b. Dow It Supplement Previous Olr«ctlve(»)?
Yes What directive (number. We)
I I Yes What directive (number. We)
umn uevei
A-SIgnsdbyAA/OAA
B-Signed by Office Ofrector [ | C - For Review 4 Comment | | D - rt Devetopmeni
8. Document to b« distributed to States by Headquarters? PI
No
Thl« Bequeet Meeti OSWER Qlfeetivea Syttem Format Standarda.
9. Sonature ol Lead Office Oif eotve* Cecrdtntter
Betti C. VanEpps, OERR Directives Coordinator
iu. narrM ana iiue 01 approving union
Henry L. 'Longest II/ Director, QERR
EPA Form 1315-17 (Rev. f-«7) Previous editions art obsolete.
OSWER OSWER OSWER O
VE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE
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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
DEC 5 1990
OFFICE OF
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
OSWER Directive #9242 6-08
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Total Quality Management (TQM) and Quality Assurance (QA) in
Superfund
FROM:
TO:
Henry Lr Longest II, Director
Office of Emergency and Rem
esponse
Director, Waste Management Division
Regions I, IV, V, VII, and VIII
Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division
Region II .
Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division
Regions III and VI
Director, Toxics and Waste Management Division
Region IX". : - " "•'-' -
Director, Hazardous Waste Division
Region X
PURPOSE: The purpose of this memorandum is to reemphasize my support of the
TQM concept especially as it relates to our QA Program and the development of Data
Quality Objectives (DQQs).for_the RI/FS and RD/RA processes.
BACKGRQk^lBf Collecting and analyzing samples at Superfund sites prior to
initiating-actiipf&ean-up activities is time consuming and expensive. The Quality
Assuranpft Management Staff (QAMS) and Superfund have been pursuing new ways to
assist in streamlining tine-procedures used to plan Superfund data collection operations
for informed decision making. A Total Quality Management approach based on the
familiar principles of Customer-Supplier communication of needs, understanding of
program process, and specification of requirements has been developed, and applied
to the DQO process. The DQO process has been reduced to the logic flow illustrated in
the diagram below, and forces the decision maker to address three basic questions.
Prtnitd on Ricyclcd Paptr
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1) What decision does the customer need data to resolve?
2) Why does the customer need a specific type and quality of data?
3) How does the customer plan to use data to make a defensible decision?
OflTfl QURLITV OBJECTIUE PROCESS
(Logic Flow)
State problem
Identify a decision that addresses problem
I
Identify inputs affecting decision
^
Specify domain of decision
Develop formula for decision-making
constraints on uncertainty
I
design for obtaining data
This TQM approach to OQOs has been implemented and proven to be beneficial
at National Priorities List (NPL) sites in Regions IV and VII. (See attachments.)
The following benefits associated with this approach to the DQO process were
observed:
o helps Remedial Project manager (RPM) (customer) communicate
effectively with data collector (supplier) by organizing key planning
issues in a thoughtful sequence;
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o helps RPM (customer) establish objective, quantitative criteria for
knowing when to stop sampling;
o helps insure that the Remedial Investigation (Rl) will produce the
type and amount of data an RPM needs to decide which course of
action to take, with an acceptable, pre-specified measure of risk of
incorrect decisions; and
o reduces overall time for the Rl by decreasing the likelihood of false
starts and minimizing rework.
Regional implementors found this approach to the DQO process to be responsive to and
consistent with" Superfund's streamlining initiatives. — ••—
OBJECTIVE: My objective is to suggest each Region consider utilizing the QAMS
TQM approach for the development of DQOs and related sampling and analysis plans,
and afford it further evaluation at a variety of Superfund sites. Since the RPMs/OSCs
are ultimately responsible for the quality of the work done, application of TQM and
appropriate QA at every Superfund site must be their aim in concert with continuous
optimization of the processes applied to Superfund cleanup. I am confident that this can
be accomplished by the WMD/ESD teams in the Regions.
IMPLEMENTATION: Please have your staff contact Duane Geuder (OS-240) at FTS
245-4027 for additional information or to discuss potential sites and timeframes. The
QAMS contact is Dr. Dean Neptune (RD-680) at FTS 475-9464. Thank you for your
continued support of our QA program.
Attachments
cc: Superfund Branch Chiefs
Superfund QA Forum Members
Regional ESD Directors
Regional QA Managers
Nancy Wentworth
Larry Reed
Paul Nadeau
Stephen Luftig
Superfund Documents Coordinator
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