Keeping Pace^® with Analytical Services

We are commonly asked by veterinary professionals (not to mention concerned friends and family members) whether the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards apply to pharmacies and veterinary practices that prepare compounded medications for pets.  

If you follow drinking water regulatory news, you already know that a perchlorate Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is back on the table. It’s been a back-and-forth between U.S. EPA and the courts over the last five years, complicated by two changes in administration. The long and short of it is that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered EPA to propose and finalize perchlorate limits under the SDWA, and the agency decided not to appeal the decision. 

Pace® Analytical Services is pleased to announce that QuanTEM Laboratories, LLC, a respected environmental sciences and food microbiology testing laboratory based in Oklahoma City, has officially joined the Pace® network. This acquisition strengthens our national footprint and expands our capabilities in several key service areas, including asbestos analysis, environmental lead testing, microbiology, and food safety testing. 

Clean water is fundamental to healthy communities, thriving ecosystems, and safe recreation. One of the greatest threats to water quality is contamination from fecal matter, which can carry harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. In this post, we provide an introduction to Fecal Source Tracking: what it is, how it’s done, and how it can be used to protect water quality and public health.  

As a standard of minimums, USP <797> lays a solid foundation for preserving patient safety and the efficacy of compounded sterile preparations. The expectation is that pharmacies will conduct further risk assessments to establish more detailed SOPs that address specific areas of their business. Not content to leave it up to their members, some state pharmaceutical boards take USP <797> a step further by creating legal requirements that are more prescriptive.  

I recently sat down with Rob DeMalo, Vice President of Operations for Building Sciences, and Ron Schott, former owner of DCM Science Laboratory and an expert in x-ray diffraction, mineralogy, and microscopy. We talked about how the integration of DCM Science Laboratory with Pace^® Analytical brings together complementary strengths, expanding capabilities and creating new opportunities to better serve our clients. Their perspectives reflect a shared commitment to collaboration, quality, and continued innovation.

Earlier this month, my colleague Andy Rezendes and I had the opportunity to host a live webinar titled “Clearing the Air: Decoding State Regulations on Vapor Intrusion.” Our goal was to shed light on the complex, and often fragmented, landscape of Vapor Intrusion (VI) guidance across the United States. Vapor intrusion is a critical issue in environmental due diligence, site remediation, and risk assessment, and understanding how it is regulated across different states is essential for environmental professionals. 

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting our most recent PFAS Webinar: Biosolids Analysis for PFAS: Challenges, Considerations, and Options. This webinar featured Paul Jackson, Pace® Environmental Compliance and Emerging Contaminants Program Manager, and Nick Nigro, Pace® PFAS Product Manager. The webinar was viewed by hundreds of attendees who asked some insightful questions, both at the end and offline. In this post, I’ll overview what Paul and Nick discussed and recap some of the highlights that might be most useful to our Pace® clients. 

On September 17, EPA issued a press release that included, among other things, an update on the liability issues regarding passive receivers. Since this issue impacts many of our clients, I’ve been getting calls and questions, asking for my perspectives. Now that several weeks have passed, I’ve had time to consider the matter and wanted to provide some encouragement for those clients that qualify as passive receivers of PFAS.

While Joint Commission accreditation lends credibility to a healthcare organization and helps them earn public trust, it also comes with a caveat: regular visits or “surveys” from Joint Commission officials. Since the Joint Commission has no duty to inform the facility of a visit ahead of time, healthcare facilities looking to maintain their accreditation must always be ready. In this post, I’ll share my perspectives on survey readiness and a few best practices from my work with hospitals and compounding pharmacies.