FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                  Roger Rensberger
May 31, 1994                            (301) 975-2762

                                        TN-5980


        NIST ANNOUNCES ACCREDITATION FOR CALIBRATION LABS

                BASED ON INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS


     The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program at
the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and
Technology now will accept applications from calibration
laboratories seeking accreditation to perform calibration
services based on compatibility with international standards.

     The new NVLAP program will help manufacturers, exporters,
testing laboratories and others to gain acceptance of U.S.
calibration and tests results between countries to avoid barriers
to trade.

     Administered by NIST, NVLAP programs are operated in
conformance with International Organization for Standardization
document ISO/IEC Guide 58:  1993--Calibration and Testing
Laboratory Accreditation Systems-General Requirements for
Operation and Recognition.

     The new program to accredit calibration laboratories
stems from a request by the National Conference of Standards
Laboratories, an association of more than 1,100 organizations.
The NCSL proposal expressed a desire by member labs to qualify
for recognition by European Union countries and reduce the
multiple audits they are subjected to by U.S. federal agencies in
order to meet procurement requirements.

     According to NVLAP Chief Albert D. Tholen, recent changes to
regulations for NVLAP procedures will facilitate cooperation
between laboratories and other bodies to assist in the exchange
of information and experience, harmonize standards and
procedures, and establish the basis for bilateral and
multilateral agreements under the North American Free Trade
Agreement and mutual recognition agreements between the United
States and member countries.

     NVLAP accreditation is available to commercial laboratories;
manufacturers' in-house laboratories; university laboratories;
and federal, state and local government laboratories.  Foreign-
based laboratories also may be accredited if they meet the same
requirements as domestic laboratories and pay any additional fees
required for travel expenses.

     Tholen notes that NVLAP also will offer accreditation to all
state laboratories currently accredited under the NIST Office of
Weights and Measures State Laboratory Program.  A NVLAP and OWM
partnership will provide additional recognition for state
laboratories on a national and international level.  He adds that
at least 35 state laboratories could receive dual accreditation.

     NVLAP accreditation indicates that a laboratory's quality
system, staff, facilities and equipment, calibration protocols,
methods and procedures, records, and reports have been evaluated
and found to meet NVLAP criteria, which are fully compatible with
ISO/IEC Guide 25:  1990--General Requirements for the Competence
of Calibration and Testing Laboratories.

     The NVLAP program currently accredits more than 700
laboratories in the following fields of testing:  acoustical,
asbestos fiber analysis, carpet, commercial products (paint,
paper, plastics, plumbing, and seals and sealants), computer
applications, construction materials, electromagnetic
compatibility and telecommunications, energy-efficient lighting,
ionizing radiation dosimetry, solid-fuel room heaters and thermal
insulation.

     To obtain an application package or for further information,
contact James L. Cigler, program manager, NVLAP, A162 Building
411, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4016, fax: 
(301) 926-2884.

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.

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