Alpha Analytical Laboratories services

EPA Method TO-15, also referred to as EPA TO-15 and TO-15, documents sampling and analytical procedures for the measurement of subsets of the 97 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are included in the 189 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) listed in Title III of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. TO-15 Volatile Organics are defined as compounds having a vapor pressure greater than 10-1 Torr at 25EC and 760 mm Hg.  The TO-15 target VOCs include the list detailed in EPA`s Compendium Method TO-14A and the list in EPA`s Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) document entitled: Statement-of-Work (SOW) for the Analysis of Air Toxics from Superfund Sites.

Perimeter Air Monitoring at a site or facility may be needed or required for a number of different reasons. These include: To determine short & long-term inhalation exposure concentrations and associated health risks, both individual human and estimation of population risks. To collect empirical data for development or confirmation of air dispersion modeling. To determine if Clean Air Act (CAA) and/or National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) component emissions are exceeded in non-attainment areas. Alpha Analytical has considerable experience working on all aspects of air monitoring. We have a range of air testing methods available including volatiles, semivolatiles, particulates and metals. Whether the site is a former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) cleanup, a contaminant soil and sediment dig and haul, or the fence-line monitoring of an industrial facility or airport - Alpha has the air testing services and experience to support your program.

Ambient air and indoor air quality testing has increased over time as there has been increasing public awareness and concern over the quality of the air we breathe. The EPA has made significant improvement in ambient air quality through the Clean Air Act (CAA). The focus has moved from major sources to indoor air quality. We all spend a significant part of our lives indoors at home, at work, and in public indoor environments. Indoor air quality is difficult to manage and, in many cases, there are gaps in enforceable standards.

Vapor intrusion occurs when vapor-phase volatile organic compounds migrate from sub-surface sources into overlying buildings. One type of vapor intrusion is Petroleum Vapor Intrusion, or PVI. This occurs when petroleum hydrocarbon vapors from gasoline or light distillate fuels, such as diesel or kerosene fuel enter a building. Hydrocarbon vapors entering indoor spaces can pose two threats; first, an immediate safety concern from potential explosive levels of methane or petroleum vapors and a longer term concern from the possible adverse health effects from inhalation exposure to toxic or carcinogenic hydrocarbons.

Alpha Analytical has the experience and know-how to partner with you to successfully complete your Vapor Intrusion investigation. Our team of air testing experts possess the information and knowledge you need to ensure your sampling efforts produce the highest quality data results possible. With the increase in public awareness and regulatory attention on exposure to sub-surface vapors, data quality is of critical importance as it may be subject to critical review and litigation.

Generating useful, reliable analytical data for risk assessments, particularly ones involving sediment and/or tissue sampling programs, is the most difficult task an environmental laboratory can undertake. Contaminated sediments can present a significant challenge to achieving project-specific detection limits, given the high TOC and moisture content. This can be further exacerbated by high concentrations of both target and non-target analytes. Tissue samples pose similar, but different, challenges associated with high lipid content.

Legacies of the `gaslight era`, former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites can have a unique chemical contamination signature and, as they were often located along waterways in urban areas, can present a significant challenge to remediation. Alpha Analytical has considerable qualifications and experience working on site characterization and remediation projects, where former manufactured gas plant (MGP) operations are suspected of being the primary source of contamination. Alpha has a wide array of capabilities typically required to support this project application.

Traditionally, most PCB analysis has been performed by either of two approaches - aroclor analysis utilizing gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD) or congener/homolog analysis utilizing high resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS). While each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, there is a very wide gap between these techniques in terms of the type, depth, breadth, and quality of information that each procedure provides. Alpha offers both aroclor and congener/homolog analysis; however, we utilize a gas chromatography/low resolution mass spectrometry (GC/LRMS) approach for PCB congeners and homologs that may be a very cost effective option for some project applications.

Alpha Analytical has considerable experience with the analysis of hydrocarbons in general and PAHs in particular. We have supported some of the largest, most demanding and highest profile hydrocarbon investigations in the world. Alpha offers a unique combination of the highest quality analytical capabiliities, as well as the capacity to process the large numbers of samples these types of projects typically generate both efficiently and in accordance with challenging timeframes. Alpha`s PAH analyses range from the typical parent PAH compounds listed in the EPA Priority Pollutant list to PAH target compounds lists that also include their respective alkyl-substituted homologs.