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Public and Environmental Health Laboratory
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Public and Environmental Health Laboratory
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| Responsibilities |
The major responsibility of the Public & Environmental Health Laboratory (PEHL) is to provide the necessary analytical testing capability and other resource support for the Division of Environmental Quality to accomplish its mission.
The PEHL analyzes samples of potable water, bottled water, groundwater, fresh surface waters, marine waters as well as soil, hazardous and solid wastes and sewage for: toxic heavy metals; radioactive isotopes; suspected carcinogenic volatile organic compounds, pesticides, semi-volatile organic compounds and bacteriological contamination. The Laboratory’s responsibility includes testing of both public and private wells and water supplies to determine the potability of water. It includes monitoring pool and bathing beach water to assure their safety. It also analyzes samples of the ocean, bays, lakes, rivers and streams for pollutants and nutrients that can damage the ecosystem. The PEHL analyzes marine water samples for chlorophyll-a and Aureococcus anophagefferens (“Brown Tide”). Samples of ambient air, indoor air from County buildings and soil vapor air located above petroleum spills are analyzed for toxic, organic and inorganic substances. Some solid materials submitted to the PEHL are examined for the presence of asbestos fibers. The PEHL also analyzes samples for hazardous materials that may have been discharged, stored or transported in violation of the law. These tests may be performed as part of routine Department industrial surveillance, undercover investigations or raids carried out in co-operation with the District Attorneys Office. |
In 2005, the PEHL analyzed more than 46,000 samples of drinking water, groundwater, surface water, sewage, air & hazardous waste samples.
The PEHL’s analytical capabilities are the engine for:
- regulatory & planning programs
- enforcement activities
The PEHL has developed unique analytical capabilities: pesticide metabolites, pharmaceuticals & personal care products.
Services are delivered cost-effectively; e.g.:
- 2005 PEHL pesticide analysis: $165
- 2005 Private lab cost: $1,180
Drinking water samples are analyzed for a total of 312 contaminants, including 161 pesticides, 85 volatile organic compounds, 26 metals, 10 pharmaceutical and personal care products, and numerous other toxic compounds.
In 1997 the SCDHS was awarded a grant by the NYSDEC to analyze potable water and test well samples from both Suffolk and Nassau Counties. As of 2005, the grant has totaled $1,200,000. |
| Analytical Capabilities |
The PEHL possesses the capability to perform detailed analyses for a wide array of chemicals and microbiological parameters and must constantly expand its capabilities to help protect the drinking water, fresh and marine surface waters and air quality. By 2005, the maximum number of contaminants determined in a drinking water sample has increased to 312. This includes 151 different pesticides and their degradation products, 10 pharmaceutical and personal care products and an inorganic parameter, perchlorate, which has developed into a national problem for drinking water. Perchlorate is a toxic inorganic ion that interferes with the thyroid gland’s ability to utilize iodine to produce metabolic hormones.
While the PEHL supports many routine regulatory programs it is also at the forefront of emerging environmental issues by adding newly published analytical methods, adapting currently used methods and creating methods where none exist. For example, the PEHL has set up an analytical system for a newly published method for perchlorate. A currently used EPA method was adapted to include 10 pharmaceutical/personal care products and a number of other pesticides/metabolites that are not routinely determined by other laboratories. The PEHL has also developed and published methods to determine methyl carbamate pesticides, such as Temik, and their metabolites and the metabolites of the herbicide, Dacthal. The method for the carbamate pesticides was later adopted by the USEPA as Method 531. |
Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS)
Liquid Chromatograph/ mass spectrometer
Inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometer (ICP/MS)
Automated solid phase extraction System |
The PEHL utilizes sophisticated instrumentation/techniques such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), gas chromatographs with selective detectors, liquid chromatographs with ultraviolet or fluorescence detectors for numerous types of pesticides, their degradation products, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Automated Ion chromatographs (IC) are used for the determination of inorganic contaminants, including perchlorate. Inductively coupled plasma/optical emission spectroscopy (ICP/OES) and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectroscopy (ICP/MS) are used for the determination 22 metals, including toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc. Automated liquid scintillation and gas proportional counters are used for the determinations of tritium or the presence of isotopes emitting alpha or beta particles. In addition to the routine enumeration of total and fecal coliform bacteria the bacteriology laboratory capability has expanded to include enterococcus bacteria, the determination of Chlorophyll-a and “Brown Tide” counts. The capability of the bacteriology laboratory has also increased with the addition of an automated Vitek 32 bacteria identification system, which makes it possible to identify thousands of bacteria species. Future growth for this laboratory includes the use of DNA technology to genetically fingerprint the source of bacterial contamination.
To maximize sample throughput while minimizing required manpower the PEHL has always incorporated the use of as many automated instruments as possible. Many of these analytical instruments operate 24 hours/day, six days a week. Bathing beaches, marine samples and sewage samples require the PEHL’s bacteriology section to operate on a seven days a week basis. The total number of technical personnel in the PEHL is 27. |
| Laboratory Certification |
| The PEHL is accredited by both the National Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (NELAP) and the NYSDOH-Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) for potable and non-potable water, solid and hazardous wastes and air emission categories. The PEHL is subject to inspections and each analyst is required to pass a “Demonstration of Capability” before being able to perform the determination of an analyte(s) and continue to pass proficiency tests for each category, every six months, in order for the PEHL to maintain its approval status. Time-consuming standard operating procedures (SOPs) are required to be written for every test method employed by the laboratory. The “Quality Systems” requisite by the certification programs mandates increasing QA/QC requirements for annual internal audits to insure compliance with the laboratory’s “Quality System” and NELAC Standards. Currently, two analysts have volunteered to act as part-time Quality Assurance Officers, however, the time required to perform the work far exceeds the amount of time they can afford to offer and still manage to analyze samples. |
| Inter-Agency Activities |
| The Hazardous Materials Response Team of the PEHL is comprised of Forensic Scientists, Chemists, Bacteriologists and Laboratory Technicians. This team is on-call 24 hrs/day, 7 day/week to respond to environmental crime scenes at the request of the Environmental Crime Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office to act as scientific advisors, assist in the recovery of evidence and secure and maintain a valid chain-of-custody on the evidence until it is analyzed at the PEHL. An example of this cooperation was the analysis of unknown liquids found in 55-gallon drums abandoned on the side of the LIE. Analysis of the “unknown liquid” at the PEHL revealed the presence of high concentrations of solvents associated with the processing of illicit drugs. A white substance found in the liquid was submitted to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory and it was found to contain cocaine. The results of these analyses were conveyed to the Environmental Crime Unit. This resulted in an undercover investigation that lasted over six months and resulted in the execution of a search warrant on a private residence used as a “cocaine processing lab” in the community of North Sea. The PEHL was an active participant in a search warrant that also included the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, Suffolk County Police Departments Emergency Services Unit, East End Drug Task Force, FBI, DEA, NYS Police and the Nassau County Narcotics Squad. The PEHL has also provided field assistance to the Department of Defense in a search warrant at an industrial site in Islip. |
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The PEHL also provides analytical support and scientific advice to the Suffolk County Police Department, Fire Rescue Emergency Services and Town and County Fire Marshals when required. This support is also provided to the NYSDOH and NYSDEC for investigations of environmental problem sites throughout Suffolk County. A recent example would be the request of the NYSDOH for PEHL staff and an engineer from the Office of Pollution Control to perform a site visit, collection and analysis of samples from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles Office in Amityville. The analysis of the air samples revealed the presence of elevated concentrations of trimethylbenzenes that were traced back to the use of an adhesive used during a roof repair. This information was transmitted to the NYSDOH for their action.
Given the Laboratory’s analytical capability to determine a substantial number of pesticides and their degradation products, at parts-per-billion (ppb) and sub-ppb concentrations in water, the PEHL has been a part of a grant from the NYSDEC, analyzing potable water and test well samples from both Suffolk and Nassau Counties. This grant was awarded in 1997 and the County has received $1,200,000.00 for its efforts.
The PEHL has also applied its technical capability/adaptability to determine the surface deposition of the pesticides used in the adulticide spraying by the Suffolk County Mosquito Control program. |
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