UKAS Accreditation for New Analysis Method

SOCOTEC has developed a new method for the acidic herbicide analysis of waters and soils.

The organisation’s Environmental Chemistry division have been awarded UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation for their new LC-MS/MS instrument, which analyses a suite of acidic herbicides in groundwater, surface water, landfill leachates and trade effluents.

Offering a faster, more stable method of analysis, the instrument extracts 50 times less sample volume (10ml compared to 500ml) but still achieves the same sub parts per billion reporting limits (µg/L). This provides a quicker and easier way to test, store and transport samples, as well as generating a more robust set of results.  

The LC-MS/MS instrument offers a host of additional benefits, including a higher sensitivity and faster instrument runtime, the latter of which ensures that a greater number of samples are analysed in a day. Sample preparation time and the need for regular instrument maintenance has also been reduced, as no derivatisation is required.

“Acidic herbicides require a highly selective and sensitive method of analysis due to their high water solubility, low volatility and heavy agricultural use,” says Becky Batham, operations manager, Laboratory and Analytical, SOCOTEC UK. “With this in mind, the new LC-MS/MS instrument has been developed to more accurately and efficiently measure acidic herbicide presence in waters and soils, as well as to help maintain public and environmental safety.

“Gaining UKAS accreditation for this new testing method is a fantastic achievement for the Environmental Chemistry division, demonstrating their high level of commitment to developing new and innovative solutions for clients.”