HOUSTON, Texas — The Houston Laboratory of Columbia Analytical is fortunate to have survived Hurricane Ike without any damage or physical harm to staff and their families. Electricity, phones and internet have all been restored to the lab.

Clients sending samples should contact the Houston laboratory directly for updates on shipping availability and procedures. The laboratory may be reached at 713.266.1599 or through the URL: http://www.caslab.com/Houston-Laboratory/

In addition to providing Methods 1613B, 8290, 23, TO-9 and 8280A dioxin/furan analysis, CAS has expanded its capabilities to include the analysis of PCB congeners by Method 1668A. Only 12 congeners of the 209 congeners have been designated as toxic by the World Health Organization. Of the remaining 197 congeners, 125 can be adequately resolved by the method; with the remaining 72 congeners reported as co-eluted mixtures.

Dioxin, furan and PCB analyses are commonly tested in marine sediment and bioaccumulation studies. Many states also require testing of these compounds to demonstrate compliance with the (503) biosludge, land-application rules. Nationwide, air regulations require many incinerators, cement kilns and metal processors to control their dioxin, furan and PCB emissions. Increasingly, public concern is driving the testing of food and food products for dioxins, furans and PCBs. New, more stringent food regulations are anticipated from the FDA.

The CAS Dioxin laboratory, located in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to the analysis of dioxin and related compounds using complex high resolution gas chromatography/ high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Two new HRGC/ HRMS instruments (AutoSpec-Q) were recently added. The increased capacity created by networking these instruments through advanced Opus Quan data acquisition software reduces standard turn around time to 14 days for an e-mailed, PDF report. Rush results are available within 48 - 72 hours.

More than 70 different electronic data deliverable (EDD) formats are offered, including Department of Defense (Army, Navy, Air Force) deliverables to support the transfer of our data into large relational database management systems. We work closely with our industrial clients to produce electronic data formats compatible with their databases.