In the Organics Prep/Extraction lab, scientists prepare water or soil samples for semi-volatile gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, which identifies and quantifies specific substances. Among the many chemicals of interest are polyaromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The City is required to monitor these chemicals of concern in stormwater, sediments and industrial discharges.

In this lab:

• Samples are prepared by extracting chemicals of concern from water, soil or sediment. Organic compounds are extracted using an organic solvent that isolates those chemicals.
• After chemicals of concern are extracted from the matrix (the phase in which the chemicals reside – e.g., water, soil or sediment), they are concentrated and prepared for GC/MS analysis in the Semi-Volatiles Analysis lab.

Did you know?

The process of preparing and extracting samples has traditionally taken hours. However, the lab’s Accelerated Solvent Extraction equipment uses cutting-edge technology that can reduce the time by three-quarters, and can be done within minutes in some cases. Traditional methods also consume and waste solvent; the new equipment uses only one-fifth the previous level of extraction solvent, saving money and materials. Solid Phase Extraction, which the lab uses to extract chemicals of concern from water samples, uses a polymer disk to trap organic compounds as the water sample is passed through it. It requires about ten times less solvent than traditional extraction techniques.