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Research and development

As the in-house laboratory service to the environmental regulator it’s important for the NLS to stay at the forefront of analytical technology and methodology.

The NLS is the largest single contributor of analytical methodologies to the Water Framework Directive.

Download the article below to read more about our involvement.

Passive Sampling Techniques

The future for environmental sampling is rapidly moving towards devices that are deploy into the environment which act as a mimic.

The NLS is accredited for both SPMD (semi permeable membrane devices) and DGT (diffuse gradient thin film). These are both types of passive monitoring devices. DGTs are used for a variety of metals and SPMDs are used to sample for non-polar organic compounds including PCBs.

The NLS is currently evaluating POCIS devices (Polar organic chemical integrated sampler) use to sample for polar organic compounds including urea herbicides.