DoD ELAP deadline for QSM 6.0 accreditation
DoD’s EDQW set June 30, 2026 as the date by which all DoD ELAP laboratories had to hold accreditation to QSM Version 6.0 or lose accreditation status. QSM 6.0 restructures requirements around ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and updates sensitivity and method-specific requirements.
TNI releases voting draft of a quality management module aligned to ISO/IEC 17025:2017
TNI published a voting draft of Volume 1 Module 2, approved by its Quality Management Systems Expert Committee on May 14, 2026, that rebuilds the general lab requirements on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 text. If adopted it would be the first major replacement of the 2016 standard’s general requirements.
EPA formally proposes PFOA/PFOS compliance extension and rescission of four PFAS limits
Two proposed rules in the Federal Register would give systems with federal exemptions until 2031 to meet the PFOA and PFOS limits and would remove the limits for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and the hazard-index mixture. Monitoring and reporting timeframes from the 2024 rule were left unchanged; comments closed July 20, 2026.
DoD EDQW issues QSM 6.0 supplemental information, version 9
The DoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup posted version 9 of its QSM 6.0 supplemental information ahead of the QSM 6.0 transition deadline. Labs and data users should check it alongside the QSM 6.0 tables when setting calibration and QC criteria.
TNI publishes draft revision of the chemistry module (EL-V1M4-2025)
TNI’s Chemistry Expert Committee released Revision 3.0 of Volume 1 Module 4 as a draft standard, restating initial calibration requirements such as the minimum number of standards per model and relative-error-based acceptance. It is not yet adopted by NELAP accreditation bodies.
DoD requires labs to use EPA Method 1633’s analytical sequence definition
A DoD EDQW memorandum directed DoD ELAP laboratories running EPA Method 1633 to follow the method’s own definition of an analytical sequence rather than the QSM definition, effective immediately. The memo sets out a step-by-step sequence that governs how calibration and QC samples are run for PFAS analysis.
EPA keeps PFOA and PFOS drinking water limits but signals a later compliance date
EPA said it would retain the 4.0 ppt maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS while planning to move compliance from 2029 to 2031. It also announced plans to rescind the limits for four other PFAS, which affects which analytes drinking water labs must report.
EPA proposes Clean Water Act Methods Update Rule 22 with PFAS methods
EPA published a proposal to add Method 1633A for 40 PFAS, Method 1621 for adsorbable organic fluorine, and Method 1628 for PCB congeners to 40 CFR Part 136, and to withdraw several Aroclor methods. The comment period closed March 24, 2025, and the rule was still listed as proposed in October 2026.