Laboratory competence for bioaerosol measurement: development of a protocol for data quality control

Aim of this work is to present the scheme for laboratory competence assurance and data quality control performed by Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL) for bioaerosol measurements in workplaces. The sampling method using impactors and contact agar plates is adopted and the control of expertise both in colonies’ counting and results’reporting performed through periodic session carried out by the laboratory personnel. This allows to determine training skills of the participants. The data collected by counting the same test-agar plates by different participants are statistically analyzed making an evaluation of uncertainty by the Lexis index after doing a test approach to the Poisson distribution.