Lab partners + accreditation

The lab is who turns the sample into a number. Lab choice is the most-underappreciated quality variable in environmental testing. Here's how Canary picks labs and what their accreditations mean for the result you'll see.

Why lab choice matters

Two labs running the same sample, on the same day, with the same method, can produce results within ±10% on a clean analyte. They can also produce results that disagree by an order of magnitude if one lab's quality system is sloppy (sample contamination, calibration drift, analyst error). Accreditation programs exist to filter out the second category.

The accreditations we look for

AIHA-LAP — American Industrial Hygiene Association Laboratory Accreditation Programs

The dominant accreditation for environmental microbiology (mold + spore identification) and allergen analysis in the US. Accreditation requires ISO/IEC 17025-aligned quality systems, regular blind proficiency tests, and biennial on-site audits. Public directory at aihaaccreditedlabs.org.

NLLAP — National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program

EPA-recognized accreditation for lead analysis in paint, dust, and soil. Required by EPA TSCA §402 for lead-clearance work. Public directory at EPA NLLAP directory.

ELAP — Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Programs (state)

State-level accreditation for drinking water analysis under EPA-approved methods. Most states maintain their own ELAP; a lab accredited in one state for an EPA method is generally accepted by EPA for analysis of the same method from any state. Required for PFAS analysis (EPA Method 537.1 / 533).

EPA approved methods

For drinking water + air analysis, the EPA publishes specific approved methods (e.g. EPA Method 200.8 for metals in water, EPA Method 537.1 for PFAS, EPA Compendium Method TO-15 for VOCs in air). Canary lab partners run analysis under the applicable EPA-approved method for every sample. The method number appears on every result.

How we vet labs

• Current accreditation in the relevant program, verified directly against the issuing body on the accreditation expiry date.
• Public on-time record for the analytes we send. We track turn-around-time performance month over month; labs that drift get reduced volume until they recover.
• Signed BAA — the lab is handling de-identified sample IDs, but the chain-of-custody connects samples to bookings that are PHI, so the lab is a Canary business associate.
• Standardized chain-of-custody form the lab will accept on every shipment.
• Reanalysis policy we can show patients in advance (cost + turnaround + dispute path).
• Method-of-record disclosed on every result.

What lands in your report

Your report shows, for each sample:

• Lab name.
• Lab accreditation program + accreditation number.
• EPA method (where applicable).
• Limit of detection (LOD) and reporting limit (RL).
• The analyte result with units and uncertainty (where the method reports it).
• The action level we benchmark against, with the citation (EPA / OSHA / AIHA / NIOSH / NIH).

This is the level of disclosure a clinician or regulator would expect. It's the level of disclosure you deserve from a commercial test that costs hundreds of dollars.

What happens if you doubt a result

You can request reanalysis by emailing disputes@canary.health. We coordinate with the lab; the lab's published reanalysis fee ($35-90, lab-dependent) applies; Canary does NOT charge a second platform fee. If the reanalysis result differs materially from the original, the lab's QA process kicks in and a full sample audit follows.

If you want a true independent verification, you can also send a duplicate sample to a second lab. Most patients don't need to; the accreditation system is strong enough that lab-vs-lab disagreement is rare. We support it where you want it.

What we won't do

• White-label results from a lab whose accreditation we can't verify. Some "at-home test kit" companies ship samples to labs without disclosing who the lab is. We always disclose.
• Use a method that isn't EPA-approved for an analyte that has an EPA method. Method choice matters; we don't substitute cheaper methods.
• Pressure labs to under-report. We've heard stories from inspectors who left platforms that did. Not on this one.

Current lab partners (live as of publication)

For commercial reasons we don't list every partner publicly, but every result you receive will identify the lab + their accreditation number on the report itself. If you want to verify a lab's accreditation before booking, email us.