In August 2010 the EPA issued a notice proposing new and revised analytical methods to be used under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The proposed rule, entitled “Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants Under the Clean Water Act; Analysis and Sampling Procedures”, will affect numerous EPA Methods, ASTM Methods, Standard Methods, and alternative test methods.

EPA methods:

Read more about the proposed CWA Methods…

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the EPA has proposed a rule that would regulate coal combustion residuals (CCR) for the first time.

CCRs, commonly known as coal ash, are residues captured from the combustion of coal at power plants and are typically disposed of at large surface impoundments in liquid (wet or slurried) form and at landfills in solid (dry) form. CCRs are currently considered exempt wastes under an RCRA amendment.

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By Ed Wallace, Project Chemist, Kelso, WA

EPA Method 29 measures hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from stationary sources for mercury and other metals. The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires all major sources to meet HAP emission standards reflecting the application of maximum achievable control technology (MACT). These sources include industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters. The other metals to be tested are antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, phosphorus, selenium, thallium and zinc.

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A recent United States Geological Survey (USGS) study of public drinking water wells in California, Connecticut, Nebraska and Florida found that some were contaminated, but in amounts so minimal, human health was unlikely to be affected. The USGS tracked the movement of contaminants in groundwater and public-supply wells in four different aquifers.

According to the USGS, wells are not equally vulnerable to contamination because of differences in three factors: the general chemistry of the aquifer, groundwater age, and direct paths within aquifer systems that allow water and contaminants to reach a well. The importance of each factor differs among the various aquifer settings, depending upon natural geology and local aquifer conditions, as well as human activities related to land use and well construction and operation. However, the USGS feels that the study of the four different aquifer systems can be applied to similar aquifers and wells throughout the nation.

Read more about drinking water contamination…

Ultra-trace speciation of arsenic and other metals is performed using a variety of techniques tailored to the specific combination of species, matrix, and detection limits required. Currently, two analytical systems are applied: Ion Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry (IC-ICP-MS) and Hydride Generation-Cryogenic Gas Chromatography-Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (HG-CGC-AAS). Each of these techniques has particular strengths that can be exploited depending upon the scientific question being asked. These techniques are combined with specific extraction techniques in order to maximize speciation integrity and data quality.

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