Cruise ship advanced wastewater Purification testing

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With the summer season in full swing, We have had regular cruise ship visits at the Southampton Port to test their Advanced Wastewater Purification. On board we liaise with the Environment Officer and Engineers to take the samples, and measure pH and chlorine directly after the samples are taken. We then return the samples to the lab for chemical and biological testing. The analysis is then sent out to  our Canadian client who looks after the assessment of many of the fleet that dock in Southampton.

 

For this service or for any of our other services please fill out the form below or call on 01329 287 777

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New GC-MS and GC-ECD

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New GC-MS and GC-ECD

Our laboratory now boasts a new Gas Chromatograph – linked Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) and a new gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD)

These two new instruments both increase and update our laboratories capabilities.

The new GC-MS is more sensitive and is equipped with a splitter allowing one injected sample to be separated on the column and then analysed by mass spectrometry for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as simultaneously being analysed for petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH, mineral oil).

The PAHs are tested either as total or speciated (EPA 16), similarly the hydrocarbons are tested as total or speciated or banded (CWG banding with aromatic / aliphatic split)

This new GC-MS / FID is therefore allows two analyses to be run at the same time on the same sample. Doubling our throughput, and reducing turnaround times for both soil and water extracts.

The new GC-MS also allows more rapid analysis of Coal Tar samples.

New method development is under way on the GC-ECD that will allow massively improved detection limits for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides in water.

 

For more information on this and all our services please fill out the form below or call us on 01329 287

 

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One of our occupation team was recently up in Cardiff at the Brunel House

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One of our occupation team was recently up in Cardiff at the Brunel House. We attended site following the cleanup of a sewage leak that spread throughout the bottom basement floor. Whilst on site we took bio-aerosols within each of the separate rooms where the leak spread to make sure all airborne bacteria had also been removed from the cleaning.

 

For more on this and all our services please call us on 01329 287  777 or fill in our contact form below;

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Emissions testing

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We are currently helping a local University test the efficiency of their emission filters to restrict vehicle fumes entering the building and thus in the air circulation throughout the rooms. We have set up tubes to test sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide to test the concentration of the gases from the ventilation, and also tested for particulates in the air. This is an ongoing project with every building tested either before or after the filters have been changed.

Colourimetric tests

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Alkalinity, also known as acid capacity, is one of many colourimetric tests that Envirochem offers. This measures how much acid the solution can absorb before its pH is changed. This test is used in concrete water and waste water. Biological organisms required for wastewater treatment are most effective at a neutral to slightly alkaline pH (7-8). In order to maintain this pH the wastewater needs sufficient alkalinity to neutralise acids produced by the biological organisms.

 

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Lead in Paint Survey for Homebuyers

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Envirochem were recently approached by an individual client who requested a Lead in paint survey be carried out on a property they wanted to purchase.

An individual client used Envirochems website to contact us and to request a Lead in paint survey on a property they wanted to purchase in Reigate. The client had a home buyers carried out on the property they wanted to purchase and it was highlighted that due to the age of the property, Lead paint may have been used in the decoration of the building. With concerns of the Lead content in paint and with a young child, the client wanted the paint from various areas of the building checked before remediation works are carried out within the property. With the aid of the client, sampling areas were agreed and scrapings from various surfaces were taken of the paint, labelled and bagged and taken back to the laboratory from analysis. Paint sampled are digested in Aqua Regia using microwave digestion and subsequently analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometry (ICP-OES) using our UKAS accredited procedure (please note, Envirochem are only accredited for the analysis of Lead in paint and not the sampling of lead in paint). A report was subsequently produced to report the results.

Envirochem can carry out a variety of paint analysis for individual homebuyers and other clients. For this serives and all our other services please call us on 01329 287 777 or fill in the form below.

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Sickness in the Office…

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Envirochem were recently approached by a client who were concerned about sickness within the office and needed some monitoring carried out to determine whether the source of the sickness was the building itself or other factors.

Envirochem have been approached by a client who discussed with us an issue of sickness within a particular office in a building.

Envirochem can carry out a variety of paint analysis for individual homebuyers and other clients. If you require any of our chemical analysis services, occupational hygiene services, asbestos or microbiological services, please contact us on 01329-287777, or fill out the contact form below;

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Noise at a Waste Recycling Depot

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Envirochem were recently approached by one of their clients to carry out a noise survey at a waste recycling depot in Reading

Envirochem travelled to Reading to carry out a Noise survey at a waste recycling depot in Reading. The waste recycling depot had a variety of areas in which noise could potentially become a problem for employees exposed to levels of noise above that of 80dB being the lower exposure action level as stated in the Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Using a Cassella CEL 620B Class I integrating sound meter with octave band filter and with the guidance of the client, noise samples were taken from nine different areas of the depot to take into account the different activities which take place in the yard and in the indoor areas. The noise levels were on a whole below the action level in the outdoor areas within the yard but exceeded this level when the samples were taken inside. This would suggest that employees working in the internal areas should be provided with hearing protection and this area should be classed as a hearing protection zone.

Envirochem can carry out a variety of occupational hygiene monitoring services for individual clients and businesses for noise and any other health, safety and environmental need. If you require any of our chemical analysis services, occupational hygiene services, asbestos or microbiological services, please fill out the form below or give us a call on 01329 287 777.

 

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Building Cladding testing services

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Envirochem has had two separate enquiries about testing the core material in aluminium composite panels. Two sheets of aluminium sandwich a non-metal core; these panels are often used for cladding on the outside of buildings. In order to determine whether the core was polyethylene or not, we ran a comparison scan with a known sample of polyethylene on our GC-MS (gas chromatography linked mass spectrometry). This allowed us to look for marker peaks like ethane, which is a good indicator for polyethylene.

 

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Identification of unlabelled substances to determine what they contain

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At Envirochem, we often receive unusual samples for analysis. One recent example of this was a set of around 60 bottles collected by us from a residential property. The bottles had been found during a house clearance as the previous owner had owned his own printing company. We created an inventory of the compounds in order to request a quote from a disposal company that we work with. We plan to analyse any unlabelled substances to determine what they are.

During the inventory, we found two bottles containing mercury. Mercury is a very interesting element. It is the only metal to be liquid at room temperature and has a very high surface tension, so forms rounded beads of liquid.

We test many different types of samples for mercury including soil, water, leachates (as part of the WAC testing suite of analysis) and air (mercury fumes or dust).