Ask the Expert Question:
An industrial permittee has a wastewater that has a slight pink coloration after the pretreatment process. The samples need to be analyzed for Phenol in accordance with 40 CFR 403 and 40 CFR 136. Will the pink coloration cause interference with the analysis?
Experts Response:
The pink color will probably be removed in the distillation, but one way of being sure would be to conduct the test without the addition of the 4-aminoantipyrene color reagent. This should give a result of close to zero if there is no interference. If there is interference, the phenolics result could be approximated by subtracting the value obtained without adding the reagent to the value obtained with adding the reagent.
View Dr. Richard Burrows expert profile
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Detection, Quantification and Calibration: Impacts on Data Quality in Environmental Chemistry
Ask the Expert Webinar Series
June 23, 2011
1:30pm EST
Over the last 20-30 years there have been tremendous advances in analytical instrumentation - enabling faster analysis with better precision and accuracy than ever before. We are also responding to needs for ever lower reporting limits. Adoption of The NELAC Institute (TNI) standards has also helped to improve and standardize quality control procedures across the board.
However, when we look at the fundamental techniques that we use to translate instrument response into data of "known and documented quality" - calibration, detection and quantification - nothing much has changed. This webinar will examine the current state of the art for establishing these critical method properties, and will propose some possible avenues for improvement.
The presenter is Chair of the TNI Environmental Monitoring Methods Expert Committee, currently tasked with developing new standards pertaining to detection, quantification and calibration techniques.
![]()
June 23, 2011
1:30pm EST
Over the last 20-30 years there have been tremendous advances in analytical instrumentation - enabling faster analysis with better precision and accuracy than ever before. We are also responding to needs for ever lower reporting limits. Adoption of The NELAC Institute (TNI) standards has also helped to improve and standardize quality control procedures across the board.
However, when we look at the fundamental techniques that we use to translate instrument response into data of "known and documented quality" - calibration, detection and quantification - nothing much has changed. This webinar will examine the current state of the art for establishing these critical method properties, and will propose some possible avenues for improvement.
The presenter is Chair of the TNI Environmental Monitoring Methods Expert Committee, currently tasked with developing new standards pertaining to detection, quantification and calibration techniques.
Register Now for the presentation
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Collecting and Reporting Quality Data for Vapor Intrusion
TestAmerica Ask the Expert Webinar Series
June 16, 2011
1:30pm EST
The process of systematically evaluating the indoor inhalation risk from sub-surface vapors began with the EPA's publishing of "OSWER Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)" in 2002. That document served as the genesis for the multitude of regulations, programs and methods that are being employed in this arena today.
As these regulations and programs have developed and matured, the clarity to the overall process of collecting and reporting quality data has become a difficult highway to navigate. This presentation will focus on clearing the landscape to facilitate navigation through the sample collection and data reporting process in support of these regulations and programs.
The presentation will be given from the perspective of an environmental testing laboratory and our 10 years of experience supporting Vapor Intrusion investigations.
June 16, 2011
1:30pm EST
The process of systematically evaluating the indoor inhalation risk from sub-surface vapors began with the EPA's publishing of "OSWER Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)" in 2002. That document served as the genesis for the multitude of regulations, programs and methods that are being employed in this arena today.
As these regulations and programs have developed and matured, the clarity to the overall process of collecting and reporting quality data has become a difficult highway to navigate. This presentation will focus on clearing the landscape to facilitate navigation through the sample collection and data reporting process in support of these regulations and programs.
The presentation will be given from the perspective of an environmental testing laboratory and our 10 years of experience supporting Vapor Intrusion investigations.
Register Now for the presentation
Monday, June 6, 2011
TestAmerica has a new Air, Vapor and Gas Resources Page
TestAmerica Laboratories, Inc., with over 25 years of specialized experience in air analysis, is one of the nation's largest providers of analytical support services dedicated to air, vapor and gas testing.TestAmerica routinely shares our knowledge base of information on our broad range of method capabilities, regulatory requirements, sample collection and handling procedures, achieving defensible data and data management practices with our clients. Supported by one of the largest inventories of sampling media in the nation, TestAmerica is ready to support you with your next sampling project.
The information provided in the Air, Vapor and Gas section will assist you in your initial navigation of the complex arena of air, vapor and gas analysis.
Contact a TestAmerica Air Expert, for additional assistance with your projects, please visit TestAmerica's Air, Vapor and Gas Resource Page
Monday, May 23, 2011
When can you exclude calibration points?
Ask the Expert Question:
When is it permissible to exclude calibration points?
Expert Response:
Removal or replacement of calibration points (point(s)) from the middle of a calibration curve (i.e., points other than the highest or lowest) is not permitted unless an injection or instrument problem confined to that point was directly observed and can be clearly documented. In this case, the failed standard must be re-run within 24 hours and before any samples and inserted into the initial calibration. If that new point is not useful, recalibration is required.
When is it permissible to exclude calibration points?
Expert Response:
Removal or replacement of calibration points (point(s)) from the middle of a calibration curve (i.e., points other than the highest or lowest) is not permitted unless an injection or instrument problem confined to that point was directly observed and can be clearly documented. In this case, the failed standard must be re-run within 24 hours and before any samples and inserted into the initial calibration. If that new point is not useful, recalibration is required.
Removal of points for individual analytes from levels other than the highest and lowest is not permitted in any event.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Formula for Calculating Conductivity Dilution in Water
Ask the Expert Question:
Can you advise me of the correct formula for diluting the salinity in water?
We have groundwater ingress in a tunnel at a reading of 4630 us/cm it is seeping into the tunnel at 5L/sec. We need to reduce the salinity to at least 600us/cm using potable water. The potable water has around 720us/cm content and will be available at 10L/sec.
Expert Response:
The formula for figuring out the dilution would be as follows.
(Ca x Qa) + (Cb x Qb)
--------------------------------
(Qa + Qb)
Where:
Ca = conductivity of liquid A
Qa = flow rate of liquid A
Cb = conductivity of liquid B
Qb = flow rate of liquid B
In this specific case, however, you will not be able to dilute the saline water to less than 600 us/cm. The dilution water you are using has a salinity greater than 600 us/cm. Any combination of a water with 4630 us/cm and a water with 720 us/cm will have a conductivity between those two extremes. In order to dilute the saline water to 600 us/cm you would need dilution water that has a conductivity lower than 600 us/cm.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
TestAmerica's New Methods and Capabilities
EPA Method 8260B SIM
Honolulu Laboratory
Method Application:
The method is used for a select group of analytes that drastically improves low level detection limits. The 82060B SIM method is ideal when running methanol preserved samples collected by incremental sampling methodology (ISM) for VOC analysis. The Honolulu laboratory can report Trichloroethylene (TCE) at 0.2ug/Kg.
Market Application:
The method is designed for those entities that perform incremental sub sampling for certain volatile chemicals of potential concern (COPC).
Hawaii's Department of Health (DOH) performed a characterization study with TestAmerica, on a U.S. Air Force base for subsurface contamination. The study focused on groundwater and soil gas data used in determining environmental risk hazards. In the investigation, core increment soil samples were extracted from contaminant locations and Single Ion Monitoring (SIM) analysis was applied, reducing the reported MDLs.
Advantages:
When performing an incremental sub sampling VOC process, field samples are preserved in methanol. This generally forces a dilution factor of 50, raising the reporting limits. The SIM approach allows the client to obtain reporting limits closer to the standard 8260 limits they expect, while performing the incremental sampling methodology.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)