NJDEP-SRP Low Level TO-15 Series: Part 1 – Let’s talk about ambient air sampling in the Garden State

Considering I was born and raised in Jersey for 28 years, I think this blog series is right up my alley. With that said the following blog series is going to address how a laboratory may meet all of the New Jersey (NJ) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Site Remediation Program (SRP) Low Level (LL) USEPA TO- 15 Method requirements with a Markes CIA Advantage.

See… in typical Jersey fashion the state had to be special [like not using the “new”… which I am guilty of (see above)] and make their own method TO-15, as opposed to just following the prescribed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TO-15, which we have covered in previous blogs. Well, that is partly the truth… the rest of the story is that the NJ LL TO-15 method “provides for a lower reporting limit and additional quality control requirements.” However, customer feedback indicates the method is like traffic on the Garden State Parkway… yeah, you get the idea.

Regardless of opinions, this blog series is going to focus on tackling the differences between the U.S. EPA TO-15 and the NJDEP-SRP LL TO-15. The following is a list, as identified in the method, of what modifications have been made to the U.S. EPA TO-15 in the method NJ LL TO-15:

• Holding times
• Canister types and regulators
• Method detection limits
• Reporting limits
• Clean canister certification levels
• GC/MS tuning and instrument performance check requirements
• GC/MS techniques
• Standard type and concentrations
• Initial and continuing calibration standards
• Laboratory control samples
• Limitation regarding the source of make up air

Some of the aforementioned changes are straight-forward/self-explanatory; therefore, I will not be discussing these changes. Rather, I plan to focus on the issues I have found laboratories to struggle with in an attempt to meet the NJ LL requirements (e.g., calibrating from 0.2 ppbv to 40 ppbv). So… stay tuned to this blog series if NJ LL interests you. And no… Snooki will not be making any appearances in this blog series.