June 22, 2020, Frederick, MD – On May 21st, the A2LA-accredited laboratory Source Molecular Corporation (SMC) introduced testing services for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on wastewater, air, and surfaces. They are the first A2LA-accredited laboratory to conduct this type of SARS-CoV-2 testing, which is covered by their flexible scope of accreditation. SMC, a Florida-based molecular testing lab, provides innovative technology to help solve pathogenic water, air and surface pollution problems through source tracking, genetic and molecular techniques, and test kits. These new tests, developed to help address the spread of coronavirus, are a timely complement to their longstanding mission. A2LA updated SMC’s scope in 2019 when their accreditation was renewed, which enabled them to add these new tests in response to the ongoing global pandemic.
By providing a suite of commercial COVID-19 environmental testing supplies and services, SMC assists clients with identification, data interpretation, solution strategies and continued virus monitoring for private and public sectors including hospitality, travel, agriculture, medical services, utilities, wastewater and large government agencies. SMC has been accredited by A2LA since 2017 and throughout the years their in-house laboratory has analyzed samples for hundreds of industrial plants, watershed management groups, government agencies, universities, and engineering firms. SMC is one of the global leaders in both Pathogenic Source Tracking (PST) and Microbial Source Tracking (MST). With a broad range of new tests and testing methods being developed in response to COVID-19, third-party accreditation by A2LA helps to ensure that the organizations developing these tests are competent and that their test results are produced with reliable and consistent methods.
“SMC’s A2LA accreditation for our suite of COVID-19 services is yet another example of our company’s innovative approach to pathogen and molecular source tracking.” Says Anda Quintero, SMC’s Laboratory Scientific Director. “From the beginning, accreditation by A2LA to ISO 17025:2005 helped us build a strong foundation for our top-quality services in the MST field. We updated our fixed scope to flexible scope last year to ISO 17025:2017 during our renewal of accreditation. The flexible scope allows us to take swift steps to respond to public health emergencies, such as COVID-19 environmental testing, in a way that we can best serve our clients in the time they most needed, without sacrificing the quality of our work. Therefore, we are always grateful to work with A2LA.”
About Source Molecular Corporation
Source Molecular is a US-based provider of molecular testing, pathogenic source tracking, microbial source tracking, and related consultation services founded in 2002. To learn more about them visit sourcemolecular.com.