Columbia Analytical has completed the implementation of the National Council of Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) Method AQ-S108.01 for the determination of anthraquinone in pulp and paper products.

In response to California’s listing of anthraquinone with Proposition 65, many companies are proactively having their products tested for anthraquinone in advance of the ruling’s effective date. This procedure is currently being performed by Columbia Analytical as written and released by NCASI.

Columbia Analytical has been in consultation with NCASI scientists over the past year in preparation for this action by the state. This preparation enabled Columbia Analytical to be in position to offer the Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) procedure in time for pulp and paper operations to comply with the regulation.

Columbia Analytical is currently analyzing for anthraquinone in samples for multiple organizations.

For more information on anthraquinone analysis, please contact Jeff Christian at 360-501-3316 or Ed Wallace at 360-577-7222.

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Learn more about Anthraquinone (84-65-1) on California’s Proposition 65 list.

KELSO, Wash. – Congressman Brian Baird, representing Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, recently toured the expansion of Columbia Analytical’s Kelso, Washington, laboratory facilities. The expansion doubled the size of the company’s Kelso operations.

As chairman of the Science and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, Rep. Baird was particularly interested in the innovative instrumentation used in the laboratory, such as the gas chromatograph triple quadrapole mass spectrometer (GC/MS/MS). With help from the Cowlitz Economic Development Council (CEDC), Columbia Analytical qualified for a deferral on Washington state sales tax, making it easier to attain the high-tech equipment.

“Because of his interest in science and technology, Rep. Baird enjoyed seeing how our laboratory has grown and how state government is helping spur economic growth in this area,” said Jeff Christian, Kelso Laboratory Director.

After touring the laboratory, Congressman Baird spent the afternoon with Columbia Analytical employees, answering questions about various current events taking place in the state and in the country. Founded in 1986, Columbia Analytical is an employee-owned national laboratory network, with operations in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Texas, and Washington. The company employs more than 200 people at its Kelso, Washington, headquarters.

For more information on Columbia Analytical, call 800-695-7222 or visit the website at www.caslab.com.

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Contact:
Dee O’Neill
360-577-7222

www.caslab.com

Press Images and Links:

Jeff Christian, Kelso Laboratory Director, discusses the GC/MS/MS instrument with Congressman Baird, Paul Brachvogel, Kelso City Manager, and Todd McDaniel, Kelso City Council.

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Columbia Analytical Services, Inc. (CAS) announces progress on our major expansion program.

CAS is undergoing major changes as a result of its $15,000,000 growth initiatives. The Kelso, WA laboratory is close to completing the expansion of its facility with the addition of more than 20,000 square feet of laboratory space in support of its expanding pharmaceutical and specialty environmental work. The new addition scheduled for completion in February, 2007 doubles the existing laboratory space.

Our Simi Valley laboratory completed its relocation into its new 20,000 square feet laboratory in December of 2006. This move was in response to its expanding business in air toxics and to support the addition of some routine soil and water testing capability.

With the completion of this growth initiative which began in 2005 with the purchase of the Transwest Geochem, Inc., and Desert Analytics laboratories in Phoenix and Tucson as well as the expansion of HR/MS capacity at its Houston laboratory, CAS has been able to realign its California operations by folding its Redding laboratory services into our newly expanded Kelso, Simi Valley, and Phoenix laboratories.

Founded in 1986 and a leader in the commercial laboratory industry, the CAS laboratory network is employee owned, with over 400 people, and operations in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Texas, and Washington. CAS provides high-quality, cost-effective and innovative chemical and biological analyses for potentially hazardous substances in air, water, sediments, tissues, solids, wastes and other matrices.

In support of MACT standards, CAS has been working with the National Council of Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) to bring NCASI Method 99.02 (Impinger/Canister Source Sample Method for Selected Compounds at Wood Products Facilities) on line. The procedure calls for a number of changes that will require careful communication between the source testers and laboratory personnel. Since the method is intended to be prescriptive, no modifications are allowed. Thus, CAS is bringing the laboratory portion of the procedure on line without modification.

Our laboratory in Simi Valley will be performing the canister portion of the procedure (i.e. gas analysis). The analysis is performed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The target compound list will generally consist of Methanol, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Phenol, and Propionaldehyde. In addition, Benzene will be required for many applications. The laboratory will also have the capability to analyze for the full suite of compounds included in Method 99.02.

Our Kelso laboratory is doing the aqueous impinger work, which includes Methanol, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Phenol, and Propionaldehyde by gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID) fitted with a chilled autosampler. Formaldehyde is analyzed using a colorimetric procedure.

Simi Valley will prepare a spiked canister and ship it to the field with the other canisters. Kelso will prepare the field spike solutions for the impingers, as well as the internal standard spike solution. Note that two spike concentrations will be recommended in order to comply with the procedure because of the risk of not correctly predicting the appropriate concentrations of the source. Since the method allows for an alternative approach of preparing a high level and low level matrix spike, this probably will be the preferred practice for the impinger samples to avoid out of compliance matrix spike results. A single spike will be done for the gas sampling.

The CAS - Kelso laboratory is cGMP compliant and registered with the FDA. CAS’ comprehensive quality assurance and ethics programs ensure that data produced is scientifically sound, legally defensible, and accurately documented. To ensure that your analytical needs are met, your project is managed by one of our in-house project chemists. Our capabilities, expertise, and services include the following:

Monograph Testing – USP/NF, EP, JP, and BP monograph testing. This includes raw material and final product testing. An example of this includes Organic Volatile Impurities testing by USP <467>. CAS can also complete testing using client supplied methodology.

Method Development and Validation – Our professional scientists have extensive experience in analytical chemistry and can assist in method development and validation for pharmaceutical testing. Methods are validated to current ICH and USP guidelines.

Engineering Studies/Process Validation – Scientists at CAS are accustomed to non-routine testing and have the knowledge and resources to solve your analytical problems. Examples of this include analytical support for cleaning studies or manufacturing processes.

Stability Testing – CAS provides analytical support to your stability study testing. This may include assay testing, physical testing, and impurity and degradation product monitoring. This also includes development and validation of stability indicating assays.

CAS has extensive instrumental testing capabilities. CAS’ general analytical capabilities include the following: Karl Fischer, Gas Chromatography, Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, High- Performance Liquid Chromatography, Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry, Inductively Coupled Plasma/ Atomic Emission Spectroscopy, Atomic Absorption, LC/MS/MS (currently being installed), and many general chemistry techniques.

Our services will help to keep your turn-around-times ahead of schedule, costs under budget, and most importantly meet cGMP quality and regulatory requirements.

Learn more about pharmaceutical testing…

Columbia Analytical Services, Inc.’s Kelso laboratory recently expanded its analytical chemistry capabilities to include a full suite of Drinking Water (DW) procedures. Along with the more conventional inorganic analytes, CAS has added the following organic methods to provide a comprehensive array of drinking water testing:

A new laboratory specifically designed for semi-volatile organic DW testing is now operational. The laboratory is fitted with all new instrumentation, including an ion trap mass spectrometer, a 6890 gas chromatograph with electron capture detectors (GC/ECD), and a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) with post column derivitization. Sample preparation is performed primarily using automated solid phase extraction. The new laboratory is dedicated to drinking water analyses exclusively to prevent cross contamination from environmental samples. CAS, already a leader in providing legally defensible data and electronic deliverables to the environmental sector, provides the same level of technical quality and integrity for drinking water determinations. Unlike the environmental sector, drinking water testing has not received the same level of scrutiny as other analytical testing related to public safety.

Validation of test results is seldom performed. In fact, the end users of the data, i.e. public water systems, seldom require the reporting of quality control results. When choosing a laboratory to provide analyses for compliance purposes, it is advisable for public water systems to ensure that the data they are receiving is legally defensible and for their selected laboratory to be able to provide all the necessary documentation and demonstration of quality control outlined in the specific methods, upon request. A state certification does not guarantee that the data is reliable or defensible. All data reported by CAS is documented and legally defensible regardless of the level of reporting to the end user.

A primary objective of the CAS Drinking Water Program is to meet the anticipated increase in regulatory oversight of laboratory data for drinking water. CAS has incorporated the same high standards of Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) to this testing that we have in the environmental field. Our corporate QA/QC systems and active Ethics Program are the impetus for meeting the evolving need for reliable DW results.

In addition to the testing performed in CAS’ Kelso lab, CAS Houston is certified for dioxins in drinking water in a number of states through NELAP reciprocity and individual state programs. Dioxin (2,3,7,8 TCDD) is regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA MCL for TCDD is 30 ppq. Individual states often regulate dioxins at even lower levels.