Emergency Response
Your Testing Partner for Emergency & Disaster Response
Emergencies demand prompt and effective action. In the face of natural disasters, industrial accidents, fuel or oil spills, or acts of terrorism, the swift identification and management of environmental hazards become paramount. These events not only jeopardize public health but also strain emergency response systems.
Environmental laboratories are at the forefront of this battle, tasked with the critical role of detecting and analyzing contaminants across various media—air, water, soil, biota, and building materials. Our contributions are vital in shaping effective response strategies, guiding remediation efforts, and ensuring public safety.
SGS stands as an experienced leader in providing robust environmental testing and analytical services tailored for emergency situations. Our laboratories are prepared to rapidly deploy personnel, equipment, and sampling support to integrate directly with the PMO during emergency response operations.
We maintain the flexibility and infrastructure to provide real-time coordination, expedited logistics, and priority analysis to meet the dynamic needs of incident management teams in the field, reducing turnaround times and facilitating immediate decision-making.
Our Key Services
- Real-time coordination and expedited logistics. Our experienced client services team can pull on resources nationally to coordinate with you on testing as you deal with the issue. Our network of service centers can send out supplies quickly and arrange for pickup/shipping as needed
- Ability to quickly scale up rush and priority services with a national laboratory footprint. Redundancy in accreditations and redundancy in instrumentation allows our lab network to shift workloads internally in order to adjust for capacity to accommodate large sample volumes to support an emergency response.
- Specialized testing support, adaptable to evolving requirements. Utilizing advanced methodologies to detect a wide range of contaminants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), heavy metals, Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Asbestos, Particulate Matter and PFAS.
- Data Management and Reporting: Providing near real-time data access with SGS Engage, available 24/7 for urgent decision-making processes and comprehensive reports to support emergency response teams and decision-makers.
By integrating these services, SGS ensures a holistic approach to environmental emergency response, aiding in the protection of public health and the environment
Wildfire Recovery – Monitor air, soil, and water conditions during wildfire recovery and analysis.
Air Quality Monitoring – Detect hazardous airborne pollutants to protect workers and communities
Soil Remediation – Analyze and mitigate contaminants for safe redevelopment.
Water Testing – Ensure drinking water quality and compliance post-disaster.
Worker Safety Monitoring – Safeguard your team with expert testing and badge solutions.
Contact SGSCase Studies and Examples
From hazardous materials incidents to large-scale natural disasters, our team provides cutting-edge analysis, rapid turnaround times, and actionable data to support safety, transparency, and effective recovery efforts.
Here’s how our expertise has made a difference in some of the most critical environmental crises.
East Palestine Train Derailment (2023)
When hazardous materials threatened community safety, SGS stepped in to provide rapid vinyl chloride and n-butyl acrylate analysis. By meeting rush turnaround times, supplying passive monitoring badges, and collaborating with third-party data validators, SGS enabled informed decisions and transparency under EPA oversight.
Maui Wildfires (2023)
With daily rush analyses for metals, silica, and respirable dust, SGS provided consistent data to ensure worker and community safety. Our scalable monitoring system and custom electronic data delivery formats enabled efficient reporting and recovery efforts.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (2010)
SGS established on-site hubs to streamline logistics for thousands of samples across the Gulf Coast. Our expertise in TO-15, PNAH profiles, and total hydrocarbons ensured public safety and supported efficient remediation, even securing exclusive access to critical sampling equipment.
Why SGS for Emergency Response Support?
- 24/7 Emergency Support: We provide 24/7 environmental testing, monitoring, and remediation services to ensure safety and compliance in critical moments.
- Comprehensive Services: From air quality monitoring to soil remediation and water testing, SGS offers end-to-end solutions for effective disaster response.
- Proven Expertise: Our team has successfully managed high-profile incidents, helping clients navigate the road to recovery.
- Regulatory Compliance: With established relationships with the EPA, DoD, FEMA, and other regulatory bodies, SGS ensures seamless alignment with compliance standards.
