Human exposure to natural and synthetic contaminants has recently come to the forefront of public concern with frequent stories in the media about the potential harm from metals in our environment. Fish consumption, vaccines, contaminated food products, and poorly...
Environmental
Update from the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant
Did you miss out on the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) this year (held in South Korea in June)? Here's a chance to get a rundown of conference highlights! BRL's Annie Carter will be speaking at the September 9th meeting of the Delta...
Freedom from Biased Data
In 1983, the first inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was introduced, revolutionizing metals analysis. The new technology allowed for metals to be analyzed with unprecedented productivity and the ability to attain ultra-low detection limits with...
BRL Provides Rare Earth Element Analyses for Phytotoxicity Studies
Technically, rare earth elements (Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Pm, Sm, Sc, Tb, Tm, Yb, and Y) are not truly rare (with a few exceptions), and they may be found liberally dispersed within the Earth's crust. Most of the rare earth elements (REE) are mined in...
Lead Isotope Ratio Testing Available at BRL
Brooks Rand Labs currently offers lead (Pb) stable isotope ratio testing for application to environmental forensic studies. Lead has a unique isotopic pattern and small differences in the ratios of these isotopes can help in identification of the source, transport,...
New Service Spotlight: Low-Level Methylmercury
The Mercury Group at BRL has developed a method modification to EPA Method 1630 that significantly lowers the methylmercury (MeHg) method detection limit (MDL). At 0.005 ng/L, or parts-per-trillion (ppt), this new low-level MDL is 4 times lower than the standard MDL...
New Publication on Great Salt Lake Mercury Research
Our very own Metals Chemist, Abby Rudd, co-authored an article recently-published in the journal Science of the Total Environment entitled Total- and Methyl-mercury Concentrations and Methylation Rates across the Freshwater to Hypersaline Continuum of the Great Salt...
SETAC Poster Presentation on Bias in Arsenic Speciation Results
Our very own Metals Chemist, Ian Joslin, made his scientific debut at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America 35th Annual Meeting by presenting his poster on the Potential Bias in Arsenic Speciation Results for Tissues Prepared by...
On the Road Again: NWEC
The Northwest Environmental Conference & Tradeshow (NWEC) is the Northwest's largest and most comprehensive environmental conference and trade show. Join our President/CEO, Michelle Briscoe and VP of Operations, Annie Carter in Portland, Oregon on December...