Emerging Contaminants Testing Services

Emerging contaminants are typically unregulated pollutants on which there is a lot of uncertainty on all aspects including measurement, occurrence, fate and risk. There are no standard methods for these contaminants, and little commercial availability. This poses a chicken and egg problem for government agencies, research organizations and more who are tasked with the responsibility of filling these data gaps.

SGS, with its strong technical personnel and R&D focused laboratories are a leader in the development, validation and scaling up of methods for emerging contaminants. In many cases, we have provided the first commercially available measurement methods, enabling scientists and regulators to assess critical occurrence and fate data. Our methods feature best in class techniques such as isotope dilution, definitive techniques such as mass spectrometry as appropriate and more, ensuring accreditation and reference method quality.

Our approaches for PCBs, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants and PFAS have eventually been publishe as standard methods by regulatory agencies like the US EPA. Our data is trusted by multiple government agencies and other stakeholders. We understand better than any, the unique needs of pre-regulatory monitoring, with its complex and long-term scopes, low reporting limits, the need to measure in all environment and waste matrices, and the ability to customize and extend our methods as needed.

Whether it is isotope-dilution LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, our methods meet or exceed challenging scopes and move to accreditation under ISO 17025, NELAP and other frameworks. We support monitoring, risk assessment, and regulatory readiness for pre-regulatory and newly regulated compounds. If you’re tackling a novel target or challenging matrix, our team can extend methods and develop custom approaches.