Environmental Testing - Chemical Analysis

Air and Stack Gas Analysis

WCAS performs most of the air analyses required by the EPA or California Air Resources Board and Districts. Through the years, we have developed many of the latest analytical methods. Many of these tests use either whole air samples in bags or canisters, PUF/XAD cartridges, impingers, or specially prepared traps and filters. Just a few examples are:

Chromium (VI) by SCAQMD 205 using IC with post column derivatization and UV detection.

Formaldehyde and other aldehydes and ketones by EPA TO5, TO11, and CARB 430 using DNPH coated tubes or impingers and LC analysis.
Hydrochloric acid by EPA 26 or CARB 421 using IC.
PNAs (PAHs) by EPA TO13 or CARB 429 using GCMS or LC with fluorescence detection.
Pesticides and semi-volatile organics on PUF/XAD cartridges.
Sulfur gasses, volatile organics, metals, cyanide, phosgene, and others.

Water, Soil, Hazardous Waste, Sludge, and Sediment

WCAS is currently certified by the EPA through the California Department of Health Services for drinking water, wastewater, and hazardous waste analyses.

WCAS is certified for many of the 500 series methods which enable us to

achieve very low detection limits. In addition to the conventional methods for analyzing for metals, volatile/semi-volatile organics, herbicides, and pesticides, our laboratory is certified to perform tests for glyphosate, carbamates, and many other less common analytes. Typical report formats, quality control limits, and reporting limits can be viewed at the following links:

WCAS is also certified for wastewater and hazardous waste parameters. We were the first laboratory certified for metals using ICPMS. WCAS helped develop and validate the newest LC and LCMS methods for herbicides,

benzidines, and others. For one client, we developed methods for ppt levels of semi-volatile organics in monitoring wells. For another, we were able to determine uranium to less than 10 ppt in ground water using ICPMS.

EPA 624 Volatile Organics in water by GCMS	EPA 625 Semivolatile Organics in water by GCMS
Modified EPA 8015 Fuel Hydrocarbons by GC-FID	EPA 8260B Volatile Organics in soils by GCMS
EPA 8080 Pesticides and PCBs by GC-ECD	EPA 8270C Semivolatile Organics in soils by GCMS
EPA 8140 Organophosphorus Pesticides by GC-NPD	EPA 8151 Chlorinated Herbicides by derivatization capillary GC-ECD

Trace Analysis of Sea Water, Ocean Sediments, Fish and Plant Tissue

The analysis of ocean samples generally requires very low detection limits. GPC is used to remove interferences from fish tissue and sediments for pesticides and other

organic analytes. Chelation, reductive precipitation, and flow injection are used to minimize interferences for metals by ICPMS and GFAA. Isotope dilution is used to improve accuracy for organics and metals. Trace metals include all the normal metals as well as As, Se, and Hg by hydride generation ICPMS. Tributyltin and methylmercury can also be determined.

Extremely Sensitive Methods for Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment studies often require extremely low detection limits to determine the risks of long term, low level exposure. In one case, WCAS developed an extension of a method for hexavalent chromium in ambient air to measure down to 1 ng/m³. The method uses sodium bicarbonate impingers to trap and stabilize the Cr (VI), ion chromatography to separate the chromate ion from sample interferences, and post column derivatization and UV detection. As low as 0.01 ug/L can be determined in water, and the samples in bicarbonate buffer have been shown to

be stable for weeks. EPA and SCAQMD have published versions of this method claiming only 0.1 ug/L detection limits.

Many of the other instruments such as the newer GCMSs and ICPMS also offer extremely low detection limits for risk assessment projects. If current published methods are not adequate for your purposes, call us to discuss method enhancements or development of completely new methods.

For a quotation......

How to send environmental samples to WCAS

	9240 Santa Fe Springs Rd Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
info400@exova.com	562.948.2225 Fax 562.948.5850

EPA 524.2 Volatile Organics using purge and trap GCMS	EPA 525 Semivolatile Organics using GCMS
EPA 508 Pesticides and PCBs using GC-ECD	EPA 1666 Volatile Organics using Isotope Dilution GCMS