Our metals analysis services enable you to identify metals contamination of drinking water supplies as well as toxic effects to aquatic ecosystems.
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) list metals which have a health and/or aesthetic limit placed on them. There are also environmental guidelines published as the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.
We provide over thirty metal analyses including Aluminium (Al), Antimony (Sb), Arsenic (As), Boron (B), Barium (Ba), Beryllium (Be), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Mercury (Hg), Lanthanum (La), Lithium (Li), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Selenium (Se), Silver (Ag), Tin (Sn), Strotium (Sr), Titanium (Ti), Thallium (Tl), Uranium (U), Vanadium (V) and Zinc (Zn).
Measuring the total amount of a metal is frequently sufficient to compare against a guideline value, there is sometimes extra value to be gained from looking at the speciation of a metal. Metals can be present in a truly soluble form, as colloids, chelated to organic molecules or attached to particles. In certain circumstances, the bioavailability of a metal will depend on what form or species it is. Consequently, we can analyse water samples for total, soluble (filterable through 0.45µm membranes), and acid hydrolysable and acid soluble.
Limits of Reporting (LOR) are based on the limit of quantitation (LOQ) which is derived from an estimation of the Instrument Detection Limit (IDL) and Method Detection Limit (MDL) using the procedure in NATA Technical Note 17 (as modified 01 April 2009).
| Metal | LOR (mg/L) clean waters | LOR (mg/L) saline waters |
| Aluminium (Al) | 0.001 | 0.01 |
| Antimony( Sb) | 0.0005 | 0.005 |
| Arsenic (As) | 0.0003 | 0.003 |
| Barium (Ba) | 0.0005 | 0.005 |
| Beryllium (Be) | 0.0003 | 0.003 |
| Boron(B) | 0.02 | 0.2 |
| Cadmium(Cd) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Calcium (Ca) | 0.04 | 0.4 |
| Chromium (Cr) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Cobalt (Co) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Copper (Cu) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Iron ( Fe) | 0.0005 | 0.005 |
| Lanthanum ( La) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Lead (Pb) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Lithium (Li) | 0.0003 | 0.003 |
| Manganese (Mn) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Magnesium (Mg) | 0.04 | 0.4 |
| Mercury (Hg) | 0.00003 | 0.0003 |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Nickel (Ni) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Potassium (K) | 0.04 | 0.4 |
| Selenium (Se) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Silicon (Si) | 1 | 1 |
| Silver (Ag) | 0.00003 | 0.0003 |
| Sodium (Na) | 0.04 | 0.4 |
| Strontium (Sr) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Thallium (Tl) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Tin (Sn) | 0.0005 | 0.005 |
| Titanium (Ti) | 0.0003 | 0.003 |
| Uranium (U) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Vanadium (V) | 0.0001 | 0.001 |
| Zinc (Zn) | 0.0003 | 0.003 |
Sample container
250ml HDPE (HDPE1)
Samples for mercury analysis require 250mL acid washed glass bottles
Label
HDPE1 - RO rinsed - none - no air gap, ice
Analytes & holding times
All water types
*All metals (28 days)
Includes cations calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium
Sampling requirements
No air gap
Storage and preservation
Iced or chilled to 4°C.
No preservative.
Notes
Container is pre RO rinsed.