News
Aquatic Weed Control
October 2013
The California State Water Resources Control Board has issued Order No. 2013-0002-DWQ for Algae and Aquatic Weed Control Applications. North Coast Laboratories is able to analyze for the regulated active ingredients: 2,4-D, acrolein, dissolved copper, diquat, endothall, fluridone, glyphosate, imazamox, imazapyr, penoxsulam and triclopyr as well as the surfactant nonylphenol.
1,4-Dioxane by EPA 522
February 2013
North Coast Laboratories is now analyzing for 1,4-dioxane in aqueous samples. The reporting limit for this analyte is 0.30 µg/L. This analyte is used as a stabilizer for trichloroethane. The method (EPA 522) uses solid phase extraction with analysis by GCMS. Additional information can be found on the Analyte Search tab.
Neonicotinoids included in Additional Analytes added to Capabilities
January 2013
North Coast Laboratories had expanded it's capabilities in order to help clients with their monitoring requirements. Some of the compounds North Coast Laboratories is now testing for include: azoxystrobin, flutolanil, imazamox, methoprene, trifloxystrobin and the neonicotinoids: chlothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Please refer to the Analyte Search tab on the web page for additional information including reporting limits, sample containers and holding times.
NCL Added EPA 6020 to its ELAP Certification
June 2012
North Coast Laboratories added the analysis of soils, biosolids and solid waste materials for metals by EPA 6020 to its list of capabilities.
NCL is Certified for Carbamates in Water and Soil by EPA 8321A
August 2011
North Coast Laboratories is now certified for carbamates by EPA 8321A for both aqueous and soil matrices. This method involves an extraction followed by analysis using HPLC coupled with thermospray -mass spectrometry. This method has several advantages compared to HPLC with UV detection such as lower reporting limits and reduced matrix affects. The reporting limits are often much lower than by UV detection. For example, the HPLC-MS reporting limit for carbaryl in an aqueous sample is 0.040 µg/L. The reporting limits and analyte lists can be found by looking up the method using the analyte search feature on our web page.
NCL Now Analyzes for Dacthal in Water by EPA 615 and EPA 8151A
April 2011
Dacthal can be added to either the EPA 615 and EPA 8151A methods when requested. The reporting limit for dacthal is 0.25 µg/L in water.
Analysis of Fipronil in Water by Gas Chromatography
May 2010
Fipronil is a broad use insecticide that is used to control ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, termites and many other insects. There are more than 50 registered products that contain fipronil. In soil, naturally occurring organisms break fipronil into smaller molecules, and at the soil surface it is broken down by sunlight. The half-life in soil is about 125 days. Fipronil in water that is exposed to sunlight has a half-life of 4-12 hours. Fipronil is highly toxic to some birds, honeybees and sea and freshwater fish. The reporting limit for fipronil is 0.10 µg/L in water.
Information Sources: National Pesticide Information Center
NCL is Now Testing for Dithiopyr in Water and Soil by Gas Chromatography
April 2010
Dithiopyr is used as a pre-emergence and early post-emergence herbicide for selective control of crabgrass and other susceptible annual grasses. It is also used to curtail broadleaf weeds in established lawns and ornamental turf. Data indicates that dithiopyr is highly toxic to freshwater fish and aquatic invertebrates but is practically non-toxic to birds. Dithiopyr does not significantly degrade with exposure to sunlight. The half-life on soil at the surface is over one year. Dithiopyr binds fairly strongly to soil and has low solubility in water. This suggests that dithiopyr has a low potential for leaching into ground water. Surface water contamination may be an issue. The reporting limit for dithiopyr is 0.010 mg/kg in soil and 0.10 µg/L in water.
Information Sources: EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet 1991
NCL Offers Testing for Animopyralid in Soil by Triple Quadrupole LCMSMS
January 28, 2010
Aminopyralid is a new selective herbicide produced by Dow AgroSciences. It is used for broad leaf weed control. It is currently marketed under the trade names: Banish herbicide, Milestone herbicide, and ForeFront herbicide. Mammalian toxicity is low for ingestion, contact, and inhalation but it is capable of causing severe eye irritation and corneal injury. Aminopyralid is not readily biodegradable. Field studies have shown aminopyralid is likely to be non-persistent and relatively immobile. It is not very toxic to birds, bees, earthworms and aquatic invertebrates. It is slightly toxic to aquatic organisms on an acute basis. No drinking water limits have been established by EPA at this time. There is evidence that manure from animals that have consumed feed containing aminopyralid retains the herbicidal activity. This is being carefully examined in the U.K. at present. The reporting limit for aminopyralid is 2.0 ng/g (ppb) in soil.
Information sources: PMEP Cornell University, and AI EXPERTS
NCL is Now Testing Endothall in Soil by Triple Quadrupole LC/MS/MS
April 2011
Endothall is a terrestrial and aquatic herbicide and defoliant. It is marketed under the trade names: Accelerate, Aquathol, Des-i-cate, Herbicide 273, Hydrothol, Hebron Pennout, and Hydout. In 1982 1.5 million pounds was released into the environment. Potential health effects: Short term; depressed breathing and heart rates; long term; increase in size of some internal organs especially stomach and intestine. The MCL (maximum contaminate level) for endothall in drinking water is 100 ppb. The long term MCL is the same. Endothall is very water soluble and is capable of migrating through the soil column and into ground water quickly. This tendency is mitigated by the fact that under aerobic conditions Endothall is quickly broken down by microbial activity. Limits of quantitation are in the range of 50 ng/g (ppb) dependent on the matrix.
Information sources: PMEP Cornell University, and AI EXPERTS
Greg Jordan Joins NCL as New Laboratory Manager
August 10, 2009
Greg Jordan comes to NCL from Columbia Analytical Laboratory in Jacksonville, Florida where he managed the laboratory for seven years. He successfully oversaw the development of the Jacksonville lab into an efficient and solidly profitable organization. Greg has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Southern California and has 30 years of experience in the environmental laboratory industry. He began his career as a bench chemist and moved to supervisory positions and ultimately to Laboratory Manager. NCL looks forward to working with Greg to develop the laboratory in ways that will meet the future demands of the environmental community.
NCL Now Offers Testing for Aminopyralid in Water by Triple Quadrupole LCMSMS
March 25, 2009
Aminopyralid is a new selective herbicide produced by Dow AgroSciences. It is used for broad leaf weed control. It is currently marketed under the trade names: Banish herbicide, Milestone herbicide, and ForeFront herbicide. Mammalian toxicity is low for ingestion, contact, and inhalation but it is capable of causing severe eye irritation and corneal injury. Aminopyralid is not readily biodegradable. Field studies have shown aminopyralid is likely to be non-persistent and relatively immobile. It is not very toxic to birds, bees, earthworms and aquatic invertebrates. It is slightly toxic to aquatic organisms on an acute basis. No drinking water limits have been established by EPA at this time. There is evidence that manure from animals that have consumed feed containing aminopyralid retains the herbicidal activity. This is being carefully examined in the U.K. at present. The reporting limit for aminopyralid is 0.10 ppb in water.
Information sources: PMEP Cornell University, and AI EXPERTS
State of the Art LCMSMS Capabilities
August 23, 2007
A PE Sciex API 4000 LC/MS/MS System is the newest addition to NCL’s LCMSMS capabilities and keeps NCL at the cutting edge of current analytical technology. The PE Sciex 4000 is an enhanced high performance triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with applications in pesticides and pharmaceuticals. This instrument is the industry standard for applications that demand high sensitivity.
The Sciex 4000 is an instrument capable of analyzing the emerging contaminants that EPA and the environmental community are currently in the process of evaluating and identifying. The water supply is increasingly at risk for being contaminated by emerging chemicals such as endocrine disrupting pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) such as sun screen and hand sanitizers. The EPA and environmental community are assessing the relative risk of a large number of these contaminants and reviewing data on their occurrence. NCL, with its extensive experience in method development and investment in cutting edge technology, will be ready to develop, modify or implement methods for these compounds once the requirements of the regulatory community are known. NCL already has experience analyzing many endocrine disrupting pesticides, caffeine and nonylphenol. Caffeine is used as a marker for PPCPs and nonylphenol is a by-product of the industrial synthesis of polyethoxylate detergents. Nonylphenols are considered to be endocrine disruptors and more specifically xenoestrogenic.