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Introduction:
There are many reasons why a group would desire to use chemistry in an attempt to find answers to questions concerning the surrounding environment. The most basic reason could be to establish baseline information so that future trends could be identified with greater ease. Lakefront property owners could be witnessing a decline in the aquatic ecosystem which they abut and desire to understand contributing causal factors. Epidemiologists often witness diseases associated with populations of a particular geographical area and desire to understand the causes so that cure and prevention can take place.
When chemists are asked to give information which can assist in the definition
and understanding of problems, a system must be created so
that the results obtained answer specific questions using credible replicable methods.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified an 11 step process
which can assist in the development of a credible sampling program known as a
Quality Assurance Project Plan, or QAPP.
A QAPP is a written document that describes the procedures used by a
monitoring project. The use of a QAPP is
intended to ensure that samples that are collected and analyzed, as well as the
data that is managed are of high enough quality to meet project needs.
In this module, students are asked to develop a Quality Assurance Project Plan, Q.A.P.P., for their own sampling program. While as many as 24 distinct elements can be included in a QAPP, students are asked to define the needed information from this list. This project culminates with the approval of their monitoring program. Once groups of students have developed a QAPP, thy participate in a monitoring program of a body of water in their watershed