TM95-06 Use of one filtered, acidified (FA) bottle for trace metal and other cations for the inorganic protocol

Effective May 15, 1995, requests for analyses for any combination of the following elements on filtered acidified samples need only be accompanied by a single 250-ml high-density polyethylene (HDPE) FA sample. This change applies to all lab codes for the following elements except where noted. In the past, some of the lab codes for these elements required the use of Teflon bottles (FAB) or required multiple FA bottles with separate ASRs (NWQL Tech Memo 95-02). Past concerns of possible sample contamination by multiple analysts' handling of the samples is not justified, and the use of teflon bottles is no longer considered necessary. Samples requesting lab code 16, chromium hexavalent, in addition to any other request, must submit 500 ml of sample. The NWQL also recommends that environmental samples and corresponding field blanks should be acidified with the same kind of acid ampoules. Benefits to the districts and the lab by using a single FA bottle include the reduced cost in manpower to collect, ship, analyze, and compile multiple sample data. Using one bottle will greatly reduce the problems associated with the current procedure and will increase the efficiency at all levels and still provide equivalent results.