What is the “second-generation data quality model” that the Triad relies on?
The Triad approach builds on real-world field, laboratory, and regulatory experiences to construct a second-generation data quality model based on two fundamental principles: • Environmental matrices should be assumed heterogeneous in composition and contaminant distribution, unless shown to be otherwise. • “Data quality” is assessed according to the ability of data to provide the data user with information that supports correct decisions. From these basic principles emerges the need to: • use a conceptual site model to understand contaminant distributions in environmental matrices; • manage a full range of sampling and analytical factors that contribute variability to data results; and • integrate systematic project planning, modern technologies, and technical expertise when generating data to guide management of contaminated sites. The second-generation data quality model recognizes that perfectly “accurate” analytical results for tiny samples can be misleading if sampling was not de
