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TLDR;
Environmental data validation is one of the most consequential and tedious steps in the remediation lifecycle. When a single EPA CLP data package can run thousands of pages, the margin for error is high and the cost of missing a trend is higher. Automated, intelligent data validation isn’t just a workflow upgrade; it’s a prerequisite for making defensible decisions at part-per-trillion detection limits.
Having been an independent data validator, I can attest to the drudgery of evaluating environmental laboratory data against the EPA’s strict National Functional Guidelines (NFGs) For Data Review. This process is notoriously slow, manual, and potentially prone to error. Considering a typical full EPA CLP data package can be over thousands of pages, automation of acceptance criteria can help avoid a lot of workplace paper cut injuries.
Moving Beyond the Batches in the SDG: The Power of Intelligent Automation
Data validation is critical for environmental data generated by commercial laboratories, yet it is not often employed except for the most litigious cleanups with the dirtiest matrices. Locus EIM Data Validation automates the analytical review process, instantly transforming raw Electronic Data Deliverable (EDD) files into qualified, decision-ready data.
While the U.S. EPA NFGs establish the benchmark for assessing technical quality, traditional validation is limited to the review of analytical batches that are contained in a single Sample Delivery Group (SDG), which fails to identify systemic trends happening before those batches in that SDG. Our clients have successfully employed this automation to prove analytical bias by looking at yearlong trends for the recovery of MS/MSDs and other QA/QC performance samples. When dealing with part per trillion regulatory concentration limits, any analytical instrumentation drift can throw off your remedial actions.
Why Choose Locus Technologies for Automated Intelligent Data Validation?
- Instant EPA Compliance: Embedded, pre-configured National Functional Guideline rules, and other rule sets by regions or states, for organics and inorganics
- Automated EDD Processing: Seamlessly ingest, parse, and validate EDDs without manual intervention.
- Smart Qualifier Application: Standardized implementation of EPA-compliant flags (U, J, UJ, R) based on precision, accuracy, and blank contamination rules.
- Automated Data Review Narratives: Generate comprehensive, client-ready validation reports with a single click.
- Configurable QAPP Rules: Easily overlay project-specific Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) alongside national guidelines for tailored compliance.
The shift from batch-level review to trend-aware automated validation presents efficiency gains and a paradigm shift. When your data pipeline can surface systemic laboratory bias across a full year of QA/QC performance samples, you stop reacting to contamination surprises and start getting ahead of them. That kind of analytical confidence matters at every stage of a cleanup, but it’s especially consequential now, as PFAS regulatory thresholds push detection to the parts-per-trillion level and data volume outpaces traditional review capacity.
If you’re attending the Battelle Chlorinated Conference in Fort Worth this year, this is exactly the conversation our team is looking forward to having — how the industry can stop letting data quality be the bottleneck between field work and action.
Come find us at the conference.
Locus is the only self-funded water, air, soil, biological, energy, and waste EHS software company that is still owned and managed by its founder. The brightest minds in environmental science, embodied carbon, CO2 emissions, refrigerants, and PFAS hang their hats at Locus, and they’ve helped us to become a market leader in EHS software. Every client-facing employee at Locus has an advanced degree in science or professional EHS experience, and they incubate new ideas every day – such as how machine learning, AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things will up the ante for EHS software, ESG, and sustainability.
Dorian A. Bailey
Director, Alliances and Customer Success
Ms. Dorian Bailey leads all customer success and partnership endeavors for Locus Technologies, and she is the company’s in-house expert on embodied carbon, clean construction, and government procurement. Dorian is a frequent author and speaker, and she advises commercial and government entities on their use of software to manage environmental data, fulfill compliance requirements, and prepare regulatory disclosures.
Dorian joined Locus Technologies in early 2024 after working as the Chief of Science and Sustainable Construction for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Leaning on her unique expertise in environmental chemistry and materials testing, and her 28 years in the Materials Engineering Unit of the Construction Management Division at the Port Authority, Dorian helped shape the Locus Sustainable Construction software application to effectively quantify and mitigate the environmental impacts of construction. Dorian has a master’s degree in environmental science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), is accredited as a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), and she is a credentialed Envision Sustainability Professional.
