Asbestos in soil quantifiation

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Envirochem offer a wide range of accredited asbestos services, including Asbestos in Soil. The analysis of soil samples, depending on your needs can report;

  • The presence of asbestos
  • The asbestos product type
  • The percentage of asbestos
    present within the sample

Analysis will enable the end user to:

  • Assist with the determination
    of the Waste Acceptance
    Criteria
  • Identify potential for asbestos
    exposure adjacent
    to contaminated land
  •  Identify the total percentage
    of asbestos present in
    the sample.

For more on this and all our services please fill out the form below or call on 01329 287 777.

 

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What to do if you find asbestos in your house

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If the case is you are living in a house which was constructed before 1980, there is a high chance it will have asbestos in it. Unfortunately, asbestos fibres are so fine (700-1000 times finer than that of hair) they are not visible through naked eyes. Therefore the only way to identify them, or find out whether your house actually has asbestos, is to look for probable places asbestos was used and then consult a laboratory and licensed inspector to test it.

If you are suspicious of asbestos being present in your house and want to test for asbestos in your home, call a licensed asbestos inspector. Here at Envirochem will can come out to your property and take a sample of any suspicious material. They will also advise you to take precautions while it is done, such as removing furniture, etc. The sample is  then tested in our UKAS accredited laboratory for asbestos.

For more on our asbestos services please fill out the form below or call us on 01329 287 777

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Lead and Chromium in paint testing

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For many years lead and chromium based paints were used because of their strong colours, resistance to corrosion and speed of drying. Despite their useful properties these paints are in fact harmful, with lead being a particularly hazardous component of these paints. Unfortunately the uptake of lead into the body is very easy with a common pathway being as simple as dust via hand-to-mouth, making children common victims of lead poisoning. The effects of exposure to lead are devastating to young children, particularly those under the age of 6, with symptoms such as hearing loss, stunted growth, delayed development and nervous system damage.

Lead and chromium based paints were commonly used in buildings and homes built before 1978, when their use was outlawed. Lead and chromium based paints can be a whole range of colours such yellow, bright red, green colour or even a white. These sort of paints were used as both primers and top coats.

Paint samples that we receive 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 is only accredited for the analysis of Lead and Chromium in paint and not the sampling of lead and chromium in paint).

 

For more information on this and all our other services please call us on 01329 287 777 or fill out the form below.

 

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Metal content analysis for landfill acceptance

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Recently at Envirochem we have noticed that more and more landfills are requesting additional testing along with the normal Landfill Waste Acceptance Criteria test (WAC test or Leachate test). Typically these include: metal content of air dried sample, speciated TPHs (total petroleum hydrocarbons, either as banded or aliphatic/aromatic split) and speciated PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons).

Envirochem laboratories offer these services to their clients; therefore, we would advise contacting the landfill site or waste receiver to check if the additional analysis is required to save you time. We will always retain samples for a period of time and can carry out additional testing at short notice.

If you would like to contact Envirochem regarding our services please fill out the attached form or call us on 01329 287777

Please select a valid form.

Asbestos in soil analysis

Written by

Envirochem offer a wide range of accredited asbestos services, including Asbestos in Soil. The analysis of soil samples, depending on your needs can report;

  • The presence of asbestos
  • The asbestos product type
  • The percentage of asbestos
    present within the sample

Analysis will enable the end user to:

  • Assist with the determination
    of the Waste Acceptance
    Criteria
  • Identify potential for asbestos
    exposure adjacent
    to contaminated land
  •  Identify the total percentage
    of asbestos present in
    the sample.

For more on this and all our services please fill out the form below or call on 01329 287 777.

Contact Envirochem now
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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.

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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 Report 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 home buyers 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 form below;

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Arsenic in Paint and Wallpaper

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Occasionally we get requested to test wallpaper or paint for arsenic content.

Some Victorian properties still contain wallpapers with a the specific dark blue/green colour or pattern called Scheele’s green. When in-situ and in good condition it does not pose a health threat. In this way it is similar to lead containing paints – when they are in good condition or over painted with new paint there is little risk unless you have small children keen on chewing the skirting board. But when the surface starts to break down there is the potential for lead containing dust to be released, disturbed and inhaled.

However, with arsenic containing wall papers there is an additional and interesting effect. If the paint or wall paper becomes damp, then a mould can grow on the wall paper that can metabolise the arsenic in to a volatile form of arsenic called arsene. This arsene can then be inhaled by the occupants. Even if concentrations are low, prolonged exposure can lead to arsenic bio-accumulating in the body. It was this that is believed to have contributed to the death of Napoleon when imprisoned on the island of Elba.

We have had a example when owners of a hotel were experiencing a range of health issues months after a flood. Envirochem found the classic green Victorian wall paper in some rooms and behind a wardrobe it was still damp and mould was growing on the wall paper. Hospital tests found elevated levels of arsenic in the two hotel owners.

The method of analysis for arsenic in paint is analogous to our recently UKAS accredited method for lead and chromium in paint.

Envirochem’s Microbiology Laboratory is now UKAS Accredited

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We are excited to announce that our Microbiology laboratory is now UKAS accredited.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national accreditation body for the United Kingdom. UKAS are recognised by the government to assess laboratories  against internationally agreed standards.  Organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services are assessed by UKAS.

An accreditation from UKAS acknowledges the competence, impartiality and performance capability of a laboratory.

For more information on our microbiology laboratory click here

To contact Envirochem you can fill in the form below

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Envirochem Now Holds UKAS Accreditation For Lead And Chromium In Paint

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We are excited to announce that our laboratory is now UKAS accredited for Lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr) in paint testing.

If you would like to read more about this please fill in the attached form or call Envirochem’s chemical department on 01329 287 777

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New Ion Chromatograph

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Envirochem has completed the installation of our new Ion Chromatograph. This is part of our rolling scheme of improvement of analytical equipment. This allows us to maintain our high standards and quality of analysis.

The new Metrohm IC883 has already been subjected to and passed a mini validation and so can be used for UKAS testing of water samples for fluoride, chloride, bromide, nitrate and sulphate. It can also test for nitrite and phosphate. The ion chromatograph is also for Mcerts accredited work for chloride and sulphate in soils.

The ion chromatograph can be used in swab analyses to test surface contamination before and after cleaning works, as well as analysis of samples from occupational hygiene work for acid fumes such a s nitric acid, sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid in the workplace.

Leachate samples from Landfill Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) samples, will also run through this instrument.

The old ion chromatograph (on the left in the photo) will be utilised to run speciated phenols in waters and soil extracts. The two instruments are linked so that the same sample can be analysed for anions and phenols. We will be able to speciate and quantify common environmental phenol compounds such a creosols and chlorinated phenols.

The new software also allows the direct transfer of analysis data into our Laboratory Information Management system reducing the time taken and the chance of transcription errors.

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