Environmental testing? We’ve got you covered!
Across the globe, there is a rise in consciousness about the environment and its role in the well-being of humans.
The ripple effect is that actions that relate to the environment are increasingly transparent because of how easy it has become to access information. Lab results are used as the most accurate measure of these environmental efforts.
SYNLAB supports the environmental consulting, compliance and assurance community by providing a wide range of reliable testing using standard-compliant methods to support your analysis needs in a broad range of metrics.
Our global network contributes to our advanced abilities to offer comprehensive diagnostic services across Nigeria in the areas of environmental food and safety. Our services range from food trace analysis to emission and molecular biological analyses.
We offer
Water analysis
Air analysis
Soil analysis
Industrial analysis
Ecotoxicology
Compositional food analysis
Food hygiene and labelling checks
SYNLAB Nigeria offers a comprehensive diagnostic service in the area of water analysis. Our laboratories are spread across Nigeria and Europe, guaranteeing access to the most sophisticated tests available today.
Our laboratories are spread across Nigeria and Europe, guaranteeing access to the most sophisticated tests available today.
We are committed to ensuring efficient logistics and prompt analysis of samples.
Water investigations for the Environmental Sector
- Drinking water
- Ground water
- Surface water
- Wastewater analysis
- Monitoring of Leachate
- Bathing water
- Industrial water
What do we test?
- Drinking water
- Drinking water installations
According to WHO, contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year. Contaminated water can cause diarrhoea and transmit diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. This makes it essential for drinking water to be tested throughout its treatment process before it is declared safe for consumption.
In the microbiological examination, tests are carried out for “indicator germs” to exclude, for example, faecal contamination and a selection of typical pathogens.
Chemical tests include all quantitative elements (calcium, chlorine, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus and sulphur), some heavy metals and selected organic pollutants (including residues of plant protection products).
Food processing, manufacturing and production companies may find these investigations useful to ensure they are in full compliance with regulatory requirements for export and production. It is also necessary to facilitate seamless and healthy domestic operations with regard to drinking water.
Operators of large plants for the heating of drinking water from which drinking water is supplied as part of a commercial or public activity should test for Legionella. As a landlord, hotel operator, school or hospital operator, experts advise that you have your drinking water checked for legionella at regular intervals (every 1 – 3 years).
Our experts in the field can assist you in the following ways:
- Determining sampling points
- Sampling
- A nationwide sampling of drinking water points by our skilled collection teams
- Checking the environmental conditions on-site
- Documenting all important points for sampling
- Analytics
- Complete and reliable laboratory analysis of the drinking water
- Investigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in water metres
- Heavy metals and pollutants in drinking water installations
- Water chemistry calculations
- Special analyses for the exact identification of germs, e.g. pathogens and multi-resistant germs
- Special analytics for plant protection products, pharmaceuticals, hormones and other anthropogenic trace substances
- Special analysis of metabolites – degradation products
What is Ground Water?
Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is stored and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Groundwater is widely used for domestic, agricultural and industrial supplies.
Groundwater is largely protected from contamination by intact soil and rock layers. However, this natural protective layer is not always sufficient and can be weakened by human activities like:
- Structural changes and removal of raw material
- Release of hazardous substances which generally cannot be retained or degraded
- Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides
Groundwater investigations also play an important role in the construction and other building projects. Groundwater investigations can assess contaminated site investigations and remediation requirements. In monitoring projects, regular sampling of selected monitoring sites provides important information on groundwater volume and quality.
The scope of services we render extends to local public authorities as well as private companies such as:
- Local Government Authorities
- Landfill operators
- Engineering companies and experts
- The agricultural sector (farmers and food producers)
- Mines and excavation companies
In addition to a large number of basic parameters (physical-chemical parameters, anions, cations), we pay special attention to the determination of inorganic and organic pollutants.
Our Services:
- Basic Parameters
- Physical-chemical parameters
- Dissolved gases
- Anions/cations
- Summary of effect and substance quantities
- Sampling
- Creating a sampling plan
- A sampling of groundwater measuring points, wells and springs
- Organoleptic examination
- Physical-chemical parameters
- Dissolved gases
- Use of suitable sample containers
- Standard-compliant sample pretreatment and preservation
- Preparation of a sampling protocol
- Metal ions and semimetals
- Antimony, barium, beryllium, cobalt, molybdenum, selenium, vanadium, tin
- Arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium total, copper, nickel, mercury, thallium, zinc
- Chromium VI
- Organics
- Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Volatile Halogenated Hydrocarbons
- Petroleum Hydrocarbons
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
- Chlorophenols
- Chlorobenzenes
- Explosive Compounds
- Plant protection products (PBSM)
- Chelating agents
- Specific Organics
- Organotin compounds
- Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC)
- NSO heterocycles
- Dioxins/furans
- Biotests
- Luminescent bacteria test
- Algae test
- Daphnia test
Surface water bodies (lakes, rivers, streams, harbours or rainwater that has not seeped away), especially those used for the abstraction of drinking water or which produce sources of food, need to be monitored for health and safety reasons.
The scope of the investigation is based on which substances are analysed and the time it takes to analyse them. It is also important to test their ecological status or ecological potential, chemical status, etc.
In addition to the determination of water quality, the following are of particular interest:
- Changes in water status
- Changes caused by inputs from agriculture, road traffic, landfills, etc.
- Changes due to accidental events (spills etc.)
Our Services:
- Sampling
- A sampling of water suspended solids and sediment
- Determination of chemical-physical parameters
- Water Quality Mapping and Saprobienindex
- Biological Components
- Macrozoobenthos
- Phytoplankton
- Macrophytes
- Chlorophyll content
- Primary production
- Zooplankton
- Chemical substances
- Nutrients
- Heavy metals
- Industrial pollutants
- Pesticides
- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
- Phosphorus fractionation, according to Psenner
- Aquatic test method
- Fish egg test
- Acute toxicity to fish
- Growth inhibitor test for algae
- Acute toxicity to daphnia
- Reproduction Test for Daphnia
- luminescent bacterial inhibition test
- Pseudomonas putida growth inhibitor test
“In aqua veritas” – reducing pollutants as far as possible is a rule of conduct in municipal and industrial water treatment. If legal requirements are not observed, this can become expensive and negatively affect people and the environment.
Wastewater is differentiated according to its origin and must be examined and treated differently:
- Municipal wastewater
- Landfill effluents
- Industrial effluents
- Wastewater from stationary water treatment plants
The proper handling of wastewater is an important contribution to the preservation of our natural resources.
SYNLAB Nigeria can support in analysing of wastewater. We are able to provide:
- Legally prescribed investigations within the framework of official monitoring or self-monitoring, e.g. in accordance with the various annexes to wastewater regulations.
- Advice and support for wastewater technical problems
- Evaluation of the analysis based on legal requirements
- Planning and execution of sampling and measurements, e.g. with sampling techniques proportional to time or quantity
- Determination of harmful discharges, e.g. via sluice membrane analysis
Our Services:
- Sampling
- Qualified samplers
- 24-hour mixed samples
- Flow measurements
- Physical-chemical analytics
- Anions and cations
- Group and total parameters
- Elements and metals
- Organic groups of substances and individual compounds
- Biological test methods
- Fish egg test
- Daphnia test
- Algae test
- Luminescent bacteria inhibition test
- Umu test
- Biodegradability
Leachate occurs when water accumulates at the base of landfills. There it is collected, discharged and treated in accordance with technical regulations. Landfill operators are obliged to regularly inspect the leachate. The leachate analysis provides information on the leaching behaviour of deposited waste and the type of pollutants that may threaten groundwater.
The deposited waste usually consists of very different fractions, so the leachate contains a very complex load of pollutants. Those that are particularly worth mentioning include:
- Organic substances (TOC, COD, BODS and AOX)
- Nitrogen compounds (determination as ammonium-N, nitrate-N, nitrite-N and organic nitrogen)
- Inorganic substances (e.g. salt formers such as chloride, sulphate, sodium, potassium, hydrogen carbonate, magnesium, calcium)
- Heavy metals
Our Services:
- Sampling
- Qualified samplers
- On-site measurements
- Discharge measurements
- Physical-chemical analytics
- Anions and cations
- Group and total parameters
- Metal ions and semimetals
- Antimony, barium, beryllium, cobalt, molybdenum, selenium, vanadium, tin
- Arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium total, copper, nickel, mercury, thallium, zinc
- Chromium VI
- Organic group of substances
- Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Volatile Halogenated Hydrocarbons
- Hydrocarbons (MKW)
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
- Organotin compounds
- Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC)
- Biological test methods
- Fish egg test
- Daphnia test
- Luminescent bacteria inhibition test
- DOC elimination level
The chemical and microbiological analysis of bathing and pool water.
In addition to taking baths and maintaining proper hygiene, people often spend time in natural bathing waters such as running water, beaches, and lakes for leisure. As a result, the quality of the water must be certified safe.
Since some of the water is not treated in these cases, other parameters are used to assess the water quality of running water compared to the pool water.
Among other things, the analysis of blue-green algae is an important indicator of water quality. Although we do not sell products or water treatment systems, we are a neutral partner in everything related to analysis and diagnosis.
Our Services:
- Consultation
- Advice on the necessary scope of the investigations, including the determination of the sampling points, taking into account the type and size of the facility or water body
- Physical-chemical analytics
- A nationwide sampling of bathing water by our samplers, including the determination of on-site parameters, the control of the environmental conditions on-site and the documentation of all important points for sampling
- Analytics
- Inspection of brine waters and special installations of swimming pools
- Special sampling and investigations on bathing lakes such as blue-green algae, macro-algae, phytoplankton, depth profiles
- Ecotoxicological investigations
- Investigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in small swimming ponds
Industrial investigations cover the hygienic operation of evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators.
In water-bearing systems, a wide variety of problems can occur, leading to loss of efficiency and material damage due to corrosion or microbiological contamination. The latter is particularly critical when bioaerosols (liquid droplets) are released from such water circuits and released into the environment. Pathogenic Legionella also poses a considerable risk here.
We support operators of cooling towers, evaporation cooling plants and wet separators in the implementation of these regulations so that you can ensure the process is technically perfect and that your plant is operationally hygienic.
In this complex matter, we advise our customers competently and independently of manufacturers. You receive complex sampling services, analysis and expertise from us from a single source.
Our Services:
- Calculation and evaluation
- Corrosion chemical and water chemical calculations
- Consultation
- Consultation regarding the necessary scope of investigation individually tailored to the client
- Process accompanying investigations for plant design/optimisation
- Support in the clarification of damages in the plant
- Sampling
- Accreditation and standard-compliant sampling and microbiological tests in accordance with regulatory requirements for the detection of Legionella in evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators
- Analytics
- Physical-chemical investigations to clarify water-induced problems such as deposit formation, corrosion and microbiologically induced fouling.
- Microbiological examination to determine the hygienic quality of service water.
- Quantitative PCR for the rapid detection of legionella infestation during self-monitoring
- Analysis of wastewater, e.g. desalination water