Performance of asbestos fiber counting laboratories in the NIOSH proficiency analytical testing (PAT) program

Asbestos fiber counting data reported in the NIOSH Proficiency Analytical Testing (PAT) Program are used in this study to evaluate the analytical performance of participating laboratories and to determine if overall performance has improved during a ten-year period. PAT laboratories have achieved intralaboratory precision of 0.18 to 0.28 relative standard deviation (RSD), and interlaboratory precision of 0.33 to 0.44 RSD. In addition, there was higher variability between PAT laboratories from 1974 to 1978, when the program underwent considerable change and growth than the variability found during previous or subsequent time periods. The improvements in interlaboratory precision by approximately one-third since 1974 and the tendency of laboratories with little PAT experience to have poorer interlaboratory precision than more experienced laboratories raises a concern that interlaboratory precision may deteriorate as large numbers of new laboratories start to enroll in the PAT Program with the increased emphasis on asbestos removal in public buildings.