Take Our Chemical Testing Challenge

Take our tech challenge on chemical testing

The U.S. EPA was testing rivers and lakes for chemical levels. The technician detected above-regulation levels in Lake Somhe, including phenol, toluene, mercury, oils, and more. There are a dozen different factories and pipelines which empty into Lake Somhe, and the EPA needs to determine which of these sources is contributing to the unacceptable chemical levels before doing a more in-depth analysis at the individual site.

The EPA contacted Cole-Parmer to find instruments or tests that can help them quickly and easily determine which sites are causing the problem.

Which test would be most effective for their purpose?

1. Recommend a chemical classifier which work similar to a pH paper strip.
2. Suggest the technician start with a colorimeter to determine phenol and toluene levels.
3. Suggest a gas chromatograph and mass spectrophotometer to determine phenol and toluene levels.
4. Have the EPA collect samples from each site and send to an independent testing laboratory.

See the answer.