• Thursday, December 5, 2024
Draft RCPs posted for public comment.
      The DEEP QA/QC workgroup has completed revising the existing Reasonable Confidence Protocols to better reflect updates to applicable EPA SW-846 methods, to improve the consistency of expected QA/QC requirements between CT and other New England states, and to improve overall document functionality. The revised drafts and their redlined versions are available for review on DEEP’s website: Quality Assurance and Quality Control (ct.gov)

DEEP is seeking feedback on the updated draft Reasonable Confidence Protocols for Laboratory Analytical Methods. Please send comments to Veronica Tanguay and Allison Forrest-Laiuppa by June 16, 2023.

1,4-Dioxane in Soil by method 8270
&
EPA 522 (1,4 Dioxane in Drinking Water)

      1,4 Dioxane is a water miscible organic compound classified as an ether. It is commonly used in paint strippers, dyes, greases, varnishes and waxes and is highly flammable. 1,4 Dioxane is a colorless liquid with a smell similar to lighter fluid. Classified by the EPA as "likely" to be carcinogenic to people.

     Phoenix is certified for 1,4 Dioxane testing in both Drinking Water by EPA 522 and in Soil by 8270.

1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) by 504

      TCP is a man-made chemical commonly found at industrial or hazardous waste sites. It is known to be an impurity in the manufacture of pesticides. TCP was used as a paint remover and cleaning and degreasing agent. TCP does not readily absorb into soil and thus can leach into ground water. It does not degrade quickly and is denser than water so tends to settle to the bottom of aquifers. EPA has classified TCP as a likely carcinogen and can depress the central nervous system.

USACE Certification

     Phoenix Environmental Laboratories has received approval from the USACE for our Laboratory Quality Assurance Plan (LQAP) filed with the New England District Corps of Engineers. This LQAP includes bulk sediment analysis of dredged material for disposal in New England waters as outlined in the Regional Implementation Manual (RIM) prepared by the joint Corps of Engineers/EPA Region 1.

PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl) Congeners

     There are 209 distinct PCB compounds known as congeners. PCBs have typically been identified as commercial mixtures called Aroclors, which are made up of individual PCB congeners. PCB congener-specific analysis offers many advantages over traditional PCB analysis including more accurate quantitation, lower reporting limits and more useful data to determine PCB toxicity. Phoenix is now certified to analyze PCB Congeners and is currently offering analyses reporting 22 specific congeners as outlined in USACE and NOAA PCB methods.

Fluridone by 525.3

      Fluridone is an herbicide used in controling aquatic weed infestations of Duckweed, Milfoil and Watermeal. It is reported by the manufacturer that there are no restrictions on swimming, eating fish, and human or livestock consumption of treated water. Irrigation restrictions may apply for up to 30 days. Fluridone is used at low concentrations, but long contact time is required, otherwise, plants will start to grow again.

Uranium (DW) & Tungsten

      Certified for Uranium analysis in drinking water and Tungsten.

Age Dating Home Heating/Fuel #2

      Age Dating of home heating / fuel #2 via the Christensen, L. B., and Larsen, T. H. 1993 method. This method age dates a fuel release under 20 years of age to withing +/- 2 years.

Air Phase Petroleum (APH)

      APH is the measurement of the gaseous-phase concentrations of volatile aliphatic and aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons in air and soil gas.

EPA TO-10A (Determination of PCBS in Ambient Air using PUF Sampling Media)

      The lab is certified for EPA method TO-10A; Determination Of Pesticides And Polychlorinated Biphenyls In Ambient Air Using Low Volume Polyurethane Foam (PUF) Sampling Followed By Gas Chromatographic/Multi-Detector Detection (GC/MD).
Customer Feedback

     Very friendly service. I can always rely on you. Thank you

     Best lab to work with in the business!!! Amazing people who are always ready to help!! Thanks, Joe C.

     I was very pleased with the equipment, customer support, and turnaround time that exceeded my expectations.

     Very pleased with your service. The analysis turn around time is prompt. Very quick if it is needed. Price is good. People are professional to deal with.

     Always a pleasure dealing with Phoenix. I wish more companies I deal with did business like you.

     Text book service with great client service. This is the simplest way to describe Phoenix labs. We have been working with Phoenix for several yeas and every transaction is executed with the same reliability and precision each time. Client service has always been a pleasure, different staff members we have dealt with all very pleasant and knowledgeable. Thank you all for your continued assistance and great work.

     Compliments to the staff. Everyone I have had a conversation with (from setting up a new account, bottle order, courier) has been very profession, and exceptionally nice! It a pleasure to be working with you guys. Thanks, Sam

     I appreciate the fact that the results are always ready on time and easy to access through the portal as well as the email sent. Great customer service!

     I can not say enough good things about this lab. From ordering glassware to do emergency sampling right through receiving as well as any questions about reporting. I am grateful for all your help !! Thanks Joe C !!

     Very Satisfied. Easy to work with. Great turn around time on testing results.

     Excellent service, Excellent turn around, Great People to work with!

     Exceptionally reliable in all aspects of services provided !!

     I have always found Phoenix ready to answer questions, easy to work with, and responsive to our needs. I believe we are a minor customer but I am never made to feel like one.

     Was very pleased with the turn-around on the lab results and that I was able to download the lab report/data in PDF and EQuIS excel format. I had to switch from another lab after about 2 years because I just got tired of repeatedly (via e-mails and on the COC document) making a request for the EQuIS excel format only to consistently get the wrong format every time...Thank you...

     I just wanted to drop you a note tell you that you are doing a phenomenal job and to thank you. I know that we can be a bit of a handful of a client at times. I would like you to know that it has not gone unnoticed, or unappreciated, that you have gone above and beyond to implement changes and honor requests. And you customer service is second to none. You are quick and responsive to our questions and requests. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I work with a number or laboratories on our food science side and I can tell you that working with Phoenix has been, far and above, the best experience that I have had in over 12 years working in this field. Keep up the good work and thank you for making us look so good ;)

     Phoenix staff (Bobbi, Lisa) have always been very responsive to our bottle order requests, special analytical requirements and sample pick-up requests. Sample drop-off policies during COVID are easy and straight-forward. Very satisfied with your services!

     Phoenix is my go to lab for anything that requires quick turnaround. In my experience they have never missed a deadline, which is a sign of good management, staff, and operations. The staff are always accommodating and really go the extra mile to provide service that far exceeds that of other laboratories I work with. They also provide higher end technical services that other labs refuse to perform, and in one particular instance were able to achieve PCB detection limits 100 times lower than another notable New England lab who initially analyzed the samples. I had the samples shipped to Phoenix after that lab refused to attempt to extract highly-impacted soil samples with coal tar that did not contain PCBs. Since the initially reported detection limits for PCB's were >100 mg/kg and exceeded the disposal facility acceptance criteria, our client might have been required to ship the soils to a very expensive out-of-state hazardous waste landfill. Phoenix used a multi-step extraction method to reduce the levels of confounding contaminants in the sample and reduced the PCB detection limits to less than 1 mg/kg. This allowed acceptance of the material at a significantly less costly non-hazardous landfill saving our client nearly $100,000 in disposal costs. I will continue to use Phoenix whenever possible and thank you for the good service.

     All the people that work with the testing have been absolutely excellent. The drop off of bottles and pick up samples always on time and even work to meet many of our crazy schedules. They provide quick testing results and their website makes it perfect to get the results to our limnoligist. Keep up the great work, Jeff

     From one laboratory to another: Excellent performance on all levels. I can easily recommend working with Phoenix with zero hesitation.

      You’re hands down the best lab I’ve ever worked with!

     Phoenix Labs is a fantastic company to work with. To all at Phoenix Labs, keep up the GOOD work and have a wonderful holiday! From all of us at Modern Metal Finishing.

     It's always a Pleasure working with your staff, Special Thank You, Greg Lawrence!! for always coming through when we need him the most...

     Recently we had the need to get some samples tested for metal levels, and working with Greg and Loreen, the process was simple and worked very well. Thank You for working with us to make what seemed at first a difficult task. Everything went smooth and the results we needed were done in a timely manner.

     It was a pleasure working with your company. The gentleman who came and delivered our testing supplies was extremely knowledgeable , helpful and very professional! Edgeco will be utilizing Phoenix Lab for ALL our environmental testing needs!!

     Excellent service!! Everyone was extremely helpful....however Greg was clear, concise, and understood the pressure I was under to have this turned around. Very happy with service.

     I’ve been working with Phoenix for years now through Bobbi my account manager and I can’t recall once her telling me “no that’s not possible” regardless of the numerous times in the middle of a project I have to change the turn around time to “immediately”. Ive worked with a couple dozen labs during my career and can say that if I tried that once with them, most would ignore me and the rest would make a half ass effort and fail. That is a hell of a hard working crew there.

     Consistent 100% customer service - Companies should take example from Phoenix of what excellent customer service is.

     Thank you for your great service! The value of your capabilities as a premier lab allow us to better serve our clients specific needs.

     I have been sending most of my soil, water and air samples to Phoenix for some years. The quality and cost of analytical services are tops and the standard 5-day turnaround is a big advantage.

     As always excellent service - I have run out of GOOD WORDS will have to look up positive phrases to use in the future.

     Every step of the process was fast, friendly and effortless. And we received our test results very quickly. Thank you!

     From my initial contact, through the submission of samples for analysis, the staff at Phoenix was very helpful and quick in response. We appreciate the work and professionalism Phoenix has displayed. We will be using them in the future and recommending them to others.

     I appreciate your rapid professional response to my specific request to reorder a standard report format. It is very helpful in my dealings with the regulatory agency.

     Wow! We delivered air samples to you a few days ago, and you analyzed them right away! Thank you very much. I also wanted to thank you for being so supportive of our staff member who called and worked with you to select the correct canisters, the analytical method, and the technique for sample collection. She said you guys were great to work with. Thank you very much for your help.

     This Company is so easy to work with. It is a pleasure to deal with them. and Great service and Prices. We could not be Happier !!

     Outstanding customer service! Quick responses from all employees at the lab, very accommodating staff, helpful web tools, and a great user experience. Thank you for all you do!

     Working with the Phoenix team has been nothing less than spectacular. It has been a real pleasure dealing with the entire staff. Thanks for making this a real pleasurable experience. Best Regards, Marc

     Very easy to work with and exceeded my expectations. Looking forward to a long term relationship.

      Dear Phoenix folks: Your laboratory reports are the best I've seen in 20 years of working as a professional environmental consultant. The information in your reports is presented in a format that is very well organized and easy to understand. The Comments section that follows the numerical data is particularly helpful, and everything is just put together so well. I think I am one of those people who resists change, and that is why I never used Phoenix until recently, when one of our new clients (who has been using your lab for years) required us to submit a few samples to your laboratory for analysis. Beyond your high quality deliverables, the communication and customer service that I have received from your staff are second to none. Thank you so much for helping us improve our overall service, quality and value to our clients. As a recently established Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, we need all the help we can get, and we are so fortunate to have you as a critical team member. We look forward to working with you.

! Important High-Level Voa Vial Update !

     The following link describes the update to our Voa Vial Labels. High-Level Voa Vial Update Doc

1,4-Dioxane EPA-522
Low Level 1,4-Dioxane (0.25 ug/L) 8270 SIM

      1,4 Dioxane is a colorless liquid with a faint smell of the solvent Diethyl Ether. It is commonly used as a stablizer for the solvent Trichloroethane. It can be irrating to the eyes and respitory tract and can cause damage to the central nervous system. 1,4 Dioxane analysis is offered at a low level of 0.25 ug/L.

Online Invoices

      Invoices have been added to the available online data. In addition, customers providing email addresses will receive pdf copies of the invoices along with the chain of custody when the invoice is generated.

PCB Analysis in Air, Caulk, Bulk Samples, Soils, Water, Wipes

      The lab is proud to offer our specialzied analysis of PCBs in all matrices. We have extensive experience with schools and remediation.


Homologs 680

      For samples whose congener makeup may have been altered due to weathering, testing for Aroclors can yeild erroneous results. Testing for PCB homologs will give more reliable results for these samples. Homologs are a way of grouping PCB congeners by the number of chlorine atoms they have, varying from one to ten. PCBs with the same number of chlorine atoms would belong to the same homolog group. For example, there are 11 different di-chloro congeners in the 2-chlorine homolog group and 42 different tetra-chloro congeners in the 4-chlorine homolog group.

Soxhlet Extraction for PCBs

      The lab is performing Soxhlet Extraction for PCBs.


Bis 2 Ethylhexylphthalate

      Bis-2-Ethylhexylphthalate is a compound used in making plastic bottles. There has been concern regarding it's toxiciy and possible leaching from plastic containers.

Laboratory Expansion

      Phoenix labs has increased capability for TO14 and TO15 Air Analysis. We have also built a brand new lab dedicated to HPLC testing of Formaldahyde, Carbamate and Diquat.
Linda Chapman
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our long-time friend and colleague, Linda Chapman. She lost her fight against cancer on November 29, 2018. Linda began her career at Phoenix in 1994 and became well known and liked by many of our clients over the past 24 years. Those who knew her will remember her tenacity, dedication, and "say it like it is" attitude! She was an integral part of our team here at Phoenix and we will miss her dearly. Our heartfelt condolences are with her son Tim, and with those that knew and loved her.

                     Linda Chapman Obituary