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UNIQUE PROBLEMS REQUIRE UNIQUE SOLUTIONS

Analytical testing goes hand in hand with sustainable solutions for contaminated air, land and water to support environmental and industrial investigations.

Established, effective, fast and routine analytical testings are required to produce data for an accurate assessment of the degree of contamination and these demands are commonly met by commercial laboratories. However, the actual field operation during the pre-clean up assessment, the clean up process and finally post clean up evaluation often result in a whole range of unexpected testing requirements. These testing needs are often urgent and field related, not well defined, complex and sometimes, selected emotively. They may often require a multi-disciplinary approach, a high level of instrumental sophistication and skills to resolve, yet at the same time need to be practical and economical. These challenges may include the characterization of unknown materials found in water, air or soil, the needs for improvement of operating remedial processes or the occupational hygiene and safety monitoring to ensure the workers safety.

A specialist "Industrial & Analytical Services" team, within SGS Environmental Services, handles these non-routine analytical works. The analytical laboratory, equipped with state of the art analytical equipment, advanced technologies and expertise, has become a leader in many areas including air, land, and water. The successes come not only from technologies, expertise, experience and innovation but the ability in dealing with real world analytical problems and meeting commercial needs. Some of the studies undertaken for various industries are:

• Finger printing of petroleum and solvents in contaminated soil and water
• Speciation of mercury in soil and the stability studies of mercury leachates for landfill disposal
• Measurement of air dispersion using tracer SF₆ – direct measurements at parts per trillionth level
• Sampling and characterization of 150 drums of accumulated wastes
• Measurements of climate change fluorinated parameters-SF₆, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (CF₄, C₂F₆, C₃F₈), N₂O, CH₄ etc.
• Sampling and analysis of PAHs, aldehydes in ambient air
• Investigation of odor from industrial effluent discharge
• Ambient air measurements of VOCs by NATA USEPA Airtoxics TO14 and TO15
• Investigation of waste material illegally discarded on land or in aquifers
• Validation of on-line stack FTIR VOC analyzer by laboratory sampling and analysis
• Investigation of unknown warehouse odor that caused evacuation
• Resolving high reported sulfide in complex industrial trade waste
• Suitability of use of various underground pipes in contaminated land for transporting contaminated water
• Investigation of chemical contamination in bulk chemicals
• Investigation of unknown deposits in industrial processes
• Method development for a wide range of non-routine environmental analysis in solid, aqueous and air matrices.