What are the Requirements for Chemical Testing of Water?

Hello Everyone,

One of our customer is asking us to perform biological, chemical and pesticide testing of water sources inside the facility. I know in biological we test coliform and E.coli, But i am confused about chemical.

If i check water for heavymetal residue. Will that cover chemical testing or there are some other testings too like zinc, copper, Nickel?

Dave

Dave,
I believe most companies send their water to an outside lab for heavy metal and chemical (ex. pesticide) content. You can check your own water for total and free chlorine at about $1.00 per sample. With respect to pesticide, this would, I would think, also be analyzed by an outside lab, and you'd probably need to find out from your customer for what they're interested in seeing results on.

Various types of spectroscopy are typically used for heavy metal analysis (very costly equipment!), and look for some or all of the following (which ones to be specified by your customer or you):


Aluminum (Al) 7429-90-5
Antimony (Sb) 7440-36-0
Arsenic (As) 7440-38-2
Barium (Ba) 7440-39-3
Beryllium (Be) 7440-41-7
Boron (B) 7440-42-8
Cadmium (Cd) 7440-43-9
Calcium (Ca) 7440-70-2
Ceriuma (Cr) 7440-45-1
Chromium (Cr) 7440-47-3
Cobalt (Co) 7440-48-4
Copper (Cu) 7440-50-8
Iron (Fe) 7439-89-6
Lead (Pb) 7439-92-1
Lithium (Li) 7439-93-2
Magnesium (Mg) 7439-95-4
Manganese (Mn) 7439-96-5
Mercury (Hg) 7439-97-6
Molybdenum (Mo) 7439-98-7
Nickel (Ni) 7440-02-0
Phosphorus (P) 7723-14-0
Potassium (K) 7440-09-7
Selenium (Se) 7782-49-2
Silicab (SiO ) 7631-86-9
Silver (Ag) 7440-22-4

Regards,
esquef

Dear Dave,

Unfortunately the answer is totally "It all depends".

There are WHO /US /EC standards to name just a few. You can take yr pick since all hv been linked on this forum (somewhere) . The worst ones from a cost point of view are of almost book-length. IMEX, a "routine" annual BRC one may consist of approx. 15-20 (BCP)components.

As you mention, the heavy-metal group ++ a few are a popular chemical starter on the inorganic side (and usually relatively cheap via AA). The conclusion is likely to depend on the legislation (if any), customer, etc.

Rgds / Charles.C

added - sorry for some duplication, esquef beat me to it! his list will certainly add up a few dollars !(Ceriuma is a new one on me !, not to mention Silicab )

The current lab i am using suggested me tests as below



1 COPPER (EPA 200.8)

1 NICKEL (EPA 200.8)

1 ZINC (EPA 200.8)
1 TOTAL RCRA METALS (7: As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Se, Ba, Ag) \

1 PESTICIDES (EPA 505)

1 SEMI-VOLATILE ORGANICS (EPA 525.2)

1 VOLATILE ORGANICS (EPA 524.2)

1 NITRATE + NITRITE (EPA 300.0)

1 SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE (SM 210B)

1 SOLIDS, DISSOLVED (SM2540C)

1 PH (SM 4500 H+ B)

1 COLIFORM AND E. COLI (SM-9223B)

1 MERCURY (EPA 245.1)

but its costly......... is there any way i can trim it down? Any suggestion? I do not think that i can get approval for this much tests.....
Any guidlines?

Total Plate Count (37^oC)orgs/mL; Total Coliformsorgs/100mL; E.coli ^#orgs/100mL; Free Chlorinemg/L Total Chlorinemg/L Alkalinity (as CaCO₃)mg/L Aluminium (acid soluble)mg/LArsenicmg/LCadmiummg/LCalciummg/LChloridemg/LChromiummg/LColourPt/CoConductivitymS/cmCoppermg/LCyanidemg/LFluoridemg/LHardness (as CaCO₃)mg/LIronmg/LLeadmg/LMagnesiummg/LManganesemg/LMercurymg/LNitrate (NO₃)mg/LpHunitspHunitsPotassiummg/LSilica (SiO₂)mg/LSodiummg/LSulphatemg/LTotal Organic Carbonmg/LTotal Phosphorusmg/LTotal Dissolved Solidsmg/LTurbidityNTUZincmg/LDibromochloromethanemg/LDichlorobromomethanemg/LBromoformmg/LChloroformmg/LTotal Trihalomethanesmg/LChloroacetic acidmg/LDichloroacetic acidmg/LTrichloroacetic acidmg/LBromatemg/LFormaldehydemg/L

The above tests are for water but you need to consult a laboratory in US that tests for water and they can give you better guidance.

Regards

Ajay

Dear Dave,

Maybe you could initially focus on items which are considered directly related to safety aspects (sounds good ? )

That should cut yr list down a bit (40-50%).

Rgds / Charles.C