Collapse to view only § 160.190 - Storage and retrieval of records and data.

§ 160.185 - Reporting of study results.

(a) A final report shall be prepared for each study and shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:

(1) Name and address of the facility performing the study and the dates on which the study was initiated and was completed, terminated, or discontinued.

(2) Objectives and procedures stated in the approved protocol, including any changes in the original protocol.

(3) Statistical methods employed for analyzing the data.

(4) The test, control, and reference substances identified by name, chemical abstracts service (CAS) number or code number, strength, purity, and composition, or other appropriate characteristics.

(5) Stability and, when relevant to the conduct of the study the solubility of the test, control, and reference substances under the conditions of administration.

(6) A description of the methods used.

(7) A description of the test system used. Where applicable, the final report shall include the number of animals used, sex, body weight range, source of supply, species, strain and substrain, age, and procedure used for identification.

(8) A description of the dosage, dosage regimen, route of administration, and duration.

(9) A description of all circumstances that may have affected the quality or integrity of the data.

(10) The name of the study director, the names of other scientists or professionals and the names of all supervisory personnel, involved in the study.

(11) A description of the transformations, calculations, or operations performed on the data, a summary and analysis of the data, and a statement of the conclusions drawn from the analysis.

(12) The signed and dated reports of each of the individual scientists or other professionals involved in the study, including each person who, at the request or direction of the testing facility or sponsor, conducted an analysis or evaluation of data or specimens from the study after data generation was completed.

(13) The locations where all specimens, raw data, and the final report are to be stored.

(14) The statement prepared and signed by the quality assurance unit as described in § 160.35(b)(7).

(b) The final report shall be signed and dated by the study director.

(c) Corrections or additions to a final report shall be in the form of an amendment by the study director. The amendment shall clearly identify that part of the final report that is being added to or corrected and the reasons for the correction or addition, and shall be signed and dated by the person responsible. Modification of a final report to comply with the submission requirements of EPA does not constitute a correction, addition, or amendment to a final report.

(d) A copy of the final report and of any amendment to it shall be maintained by the sponsor and the test facility.

§ 160.190 - Storage and retrieval of records and data.

(a) All raw data, documentation, records, protocols, specimens, and final reports generated as a result of a study shall be retained. Specimens obtained from mutagenicity tests, specimens of soil, water, and plants, and wet specimens of blood, urine, feces, and biological fluids, do not need to be retained after quality assurance verification. Correspondence and other documents relating to interpretation and evaluation of data, other than those documents contained in the final report, also shall be retained.

(b) There shall be archives for orderly storage and expedient retrieval of all raw data, documentation, protocols, specimens, and interim and final reports. Conditions of storage shall minimize deterioration of the documents or specimens in accordance with the requirements for the time period of their retention and the nature of the documents of specimens. A testing facility may contract with commercial archives to provide a repository for all material to be retained. Raw data and specimens may be retained elsewhere provided that the archives have specific reference to those other locations.

(c) An individual shall be identified as responsible for the archives.

(d) Only authorized personnel shall enter the archives.

(e) Material retained or referred to in the archives shall be indexed to permit expedient retrieval.

§ 160.195 - Retention of records.

(a) Record retention requirements set forth in this section do not supersede the record retention requirements of any other regulations in this subchapter.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, documentation records, raw data, and specimens pertaining to a study and required to be retained by this part shall be retained in the archive(s) for whichever of the following periods is longest:

(1) In the case of any study used to support an application for a research or marketing permit approved by EPA, the period during which the sponsor holds any research or marketing permit to which the study is pertinent.

(2) A period of at least 5 years following the date on which the results of the study are submitted to the EPA in support of an application for a research or marketing permit.

(3) In other situations (e.g., where the study does not result in the submission of the study in support of an application for a research or marketing permit), a period of at least 2 years following the date on which the study is completed, terminated, or discontinued.

(c) Wet specimens, samples of test, control, or reference substances, and specially prepared material which are relatively fragile and differ markedly in stability and quality during storage, shall be retained only as long as the quality of the preparation affords evaluation. Specimens obtained from mutagenicity tests, specimens of soil, water, and plants, and wet specimens of blood, urine, feces, and biological fluids, do not need to be retained after quality assurance verification. In no case shall retention be required for longer periods than those set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) The master schedule sheet, copies of protocols, and records of quality assurance inspections, as required by § 160.35(c) shall be maintained by the quality assurance unit as an easily accessible system of records for the period of time specified in paragraph (b) of this section.

(e) Summaries of training and experience and job descriptions required to be maintained by § 160.29(b) may be retained along with all other testing facility employment records for the length of time specified in paragraph (b) of this section.

(f) Records and reports of the maintenance and calibration and inspection of equipment, as required by § 160.63 (b) and (c), shall be retained for the length of time specified in paragraph (b) of this section.

(g) If a facility conducting testing or an archive contracting facility goes out of business, all raw data, documentation, and other material specified in this section shall be transferred to the archives of the sponsor of the study. The EPA shall be notified in writing of such a transfer.

(h) Specimens, samples, or other non-documentary materials need not be retained after EPA has notified in writing the sponsor or testing facility holding the materials that retention is no longer required by EPA. Such notification normally will be furnished upon request after EPA or FDA has completed an audit of the particular study to which the materials relate and EPA has concluded that the study was conducted in accordance with this part.

(i) Records required by this part may be retained either as original records or as true copies such as photocopies, microfilm, microfiche, or other accurate reproductions of the original records.