Florida Society of Environmental Analysts
FSEA
P.O.Box 153
Ormond Beach, FL 32175-0153
Phone: 386-441-3111
fsea@earthlink.net
The Florida Society of Environmental Analysts (FSEA) was originally chartered in 1979 as a professional society focused on technical excellence regarding collection, analysis and interpretation of environmental data.
The stated purpose of the organization is to promote the professional status of environmental analysts, to promote standards of excellence, to provide liaison between regulatory agencies and the membership, to take a leadership stand in the promotion of environmental programs and legislation, to evaluate new analytical procedures, and to promote guidelines for education and training of environmental analysts.
The membership consists of a variety of environmental professionals, mostly from government and commercial laboratory organizations, including lab managers, QA officers, analytical chemists and field compliance officers. The current statewide membership is about 500 active members.
The FSEA has steadily grown over the years and effectively “blossomed” during the time that the Laboratory Certification Authority (The Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Laboratories) adopted the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) standards for certification.
The FSEA generally holds a spring meeting and a fall meeting each year. These meetings typically include Workshops, Technical Presentations and Laboratory Vendor Displays. In addition, each of the six regions hosts a program of local interest during each calendar year. Recent programs have been well attended, and the program quality continues to improve. Vendor participation and overall attendance continues to grow each year.
Most meetings feature presentations from key state regulators who offer overviews, advice and case studies describing the implementation of current and proposed laboratory certification and other related rules. These meetings always include open feedback sessions and ample opportunities for laboratory personnel to interact with their state regulators. This role as facilitator and liason between the certification agency and the membership is probably the greatest contribution the FSEA is making toward promoting analytical excellence.
The FSEA sponsors a college mentorship program that offers promising college students the opportunity to attend one of the semi-annual meetings. At these sessions, the students can interact with the professional community, state regulators and the FSEA board members. Also, the FSEA has formed a committee to examine opportunities for statewide environmental analyst certification.
In summary, the FSEA is a distinctive organization that has brought together a widely disbursed group of environmental professionals throughout the state of Florida to work together towards their common goal of analytical consistency and excellence.
