Changes to Sample Receiving Protocol & Cyanide Preservation Requirements Reminder

Sample Receiving Protocol & Hours Change:

In light of the COVID-19 precautions and social distancing requirements, effective Monday March 30th Babcock Labs will be operating an outdoor sample drop-off arrangement.

Sample Receiving Protocol Changes

There will be a tent and tables outside the 6110 Quail Valley building to facilitate the sample receiving process with minimal individual contact. Sample control staff will accept samples, take temperatures, sign COCs, and provide the carbon copy paper when multi-copy forms have been used. For all COCs that do not have a carbonless copy page, we are asking our clients to take a cellphone photo of the finalized COC, or wait for the scanned copy which is returned with the final report.

Clients are asked to wait in their vehicles in line until our staff are ready to receive their samples. A circular entrance at 6100 with the exit at 6110 driveways is delineated with orange cones to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic. Please ask all delivery staff to follow directions and wait in the vehicle in line until their turn to deliver. Only Babcock employees will be authorized to enter our buildings until further notice.

Effective April 4, 2020, we will no longer accept samples delivered by clients on the weekend or holidays. Only samples taken or picked up by scheduled Babcock field services will be accepted on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Contractual arrangements will continue without interruption and authorized Babcock couriers will be unaffected.

We thank you for your patience and assistance to help keep your staff and our Babcock employee-owners safe and health, and to all do our part to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus.

Cyanide Preservation Requirements:

Cyanide Preservation Requirements

Babcock Laboratories, Inc. is committed to providing our clients with analytical results obtained by approved methods to ensure validity and regulatory compliance of all environmental samples submitted to our laboratory. This letter serves as a reminder regarding the preservation requirements for all aqueous samples submitted for cyanide analysis.

Per Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (SM 22nd), due to cyanide’s reactive and unstable nature, samples for cyanide analysis by SM4500 must be preserved at the time of collection unless analysis is performed immediately.

If submitting samples for cyanide analysis please submit samples in a preserved sample container. Preservation requires the addition of 35% Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) at a volume of 1mL per 500mL container. When receiving sample containers from Babcock Labs through sample receiving, from our field team or in a shipped bottle order only preserved containers will be supplied for samples requesting cyanide.

At this time Babcock Labs would like to request any aqueous samples requiring cyanide analysis submitted to the lab in a preserved container. Samples submitted in unpreserved containers will require client approval to continue with cyanide analysis. Any “unpreserved” results reported will be qualified accordingly and may not be acceptable under regulatory compliance standards.

If you have any questions or require any additional information regarding cyanide sampling, please contact your Project Manager or the Babcock Quality Assurance Manager, Stacey Fry at 951-653-3351.