Good Laboratory Practices: A Comparison of the Regulations
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (and under some sections of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act). Quality assurance professionals, toxicologists, and laboratory managers are now confronted with complying with two new sets of regulations in addition to those promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1979. Immediately questions arose concerning the similarities and differences in the FDA and EPA requirements. Therefore, an analysis was performed to determine whether there were significant differences. The findings indicated that 19 sections were similar to the FDA requirements, 5 sections had minor differences, and 4 had major differences. In addition, new sections were added to the EPA regulations addressing compliance statements and the consequences of noncompliance for sponsors and laboratory personnel. The Toxic Substances GLP also incorporated a new subpart covering environmental testing.