The Department of Environmental Protection has taken some of the steps we recommended in a 2001 report on the potential for increasing the use of private laboratories. The department developed a process for determining its full internal costs, including both direct and indirect costs for performing laboratory services, established measures and standards for evaluating contractor performance, and established a process that can be used to help ensure the accuracy of private laboratory analytical results.
However, the department did not base its recent decisions to expand the use of private laboratory services based on a comparative assessment of in-house and private laboratory costs. The department should conduct analyses to compare its in-house costs with private laboratory costs before it increases the use of privatize laboratory services in the future.

Environmental Laboratory Privatization Feasible; Cost Savings Are Uncertain
Report 01-65 December 2001

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.