About the Water Quality Database Data

All chemistry data received in electronic format are moved to our website soon after receipt. These data are in various stages of review and are assigned preliminary and provisional flags to give an indication of their current status. The preliminary flag indicates whether a result has been validated. The preliminary flag is set to 'Y' if record has not yet been validated and the result is preliminary. The preliminary flag is set to 'N' after the record is validated even if no validation codes were applied. All of the data from our analytical laboratories that have the capability to provide level 4 data packages are validated.

The provisional flag indicates when a result is final. Typically, flag is set to “N” when the result has been published. If the flag is 'Y' the data may not have been validated or checked for accuracy. The data are provisional and subject to change until published.

Regardless of the flags, these data require interpretation. In many cases the numbers represent values that may be present from non-Laboratory or natural sources, such as radionuclides from worldwide fallout or ash from the Cerro Grande Fire. Many concentrations for other substances, such as aluminum, may be present because they are present in the soils on or above the Laboratory. Some of the results are or may be attributable to historic or current Laboratory operations. An interpretation putting these data in context may be found in the annual Environmental Surveillance Reports (ESR). The annual ESRs are available online at http://www.airquality.lanl.gov/AirReports.htm#ES (requires LANL Smart/CryptoCard if accessing from outside the laboratory). For those external to LANL, the 2001 ESR report is available online at 2001 ESR , at local libraries, or by contacting Terry Morgan (tlm@lanl.gov, phone: 505-665-0636).

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NOTE:
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Oracle Reports Server CGI - The Reports Server Engine terminated abnormally."

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