Analytic Lab Services

The Laboratory provides a range of Analytical Services including engineering testing, environmental testing, geochemical as well as health related testing. These tests are provided for certification, quality appraisal, quality control, export purposes and research.

Testing is done primarily for developers, construction companies, water entities, recreational facilities, environmental monitoring entities, mining companies, farmers, food processors, supermarkets and research organizations.

Testing Offered

Soil Testing

  • Soil Contamination

  • Soil Fertility Assessment

  • Soil Suitability for Construction

Water Testing

  • Water Contamination

  • Portable Water Assessment

  • Recreational Water Testing

Rocks Testing

- including limestone, shale, granite, and gypsum

  • Mineralization

  • Geochemical Exploration Studies

  • Rock Suitability for Construction

Foods Testing

  • Nutrient content testing including mineral content testing.

  • Testing of trace metals and other toxic companents for a wide range of foods including fruits, vegetables, canned foods, juices and meat.

Physical Testing

Includes: Strength, Durability, Density, Size Evaluation and Appearance Tests applicable to:

  • Testing of raw material suitability for construction purposes.

  • Testing of pulverised material for various uses.

  • Resource assessment.

Sampling and Sampling Preparation Services

  • Sampling design and field work in mineral exploration, geochemical prospecting and environmental studies

  • Sample preparation for testing and bulk size samples. For example: drying, screening, crushing, splitting, pulverizing, homegenizing and heavy metal seperation.

  • Resource assessment.

Analytic Methods

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

The Laboratory has a state of the art Perkin Elmer AAS system. This system utilizes three different AAS techniques. More than 40 elements, mainly metals may be determined. Specific AAS techniques include:

  • Graphite Furnace AAS, GF-AAS: This is a very sensitive technique which enable elements that could not be determined by the traditional flame and other classical techniques, to be analysed giving accurate results for the naturally low levels at which these elements occur. These include: lead, gold, molybdenum and most of the heavy metals, especially when water and organic matrices are being analyzed.

  • Flame AAS, F-AAS: This is the traditional AAS technique which give very good sensitivity for most of the common metals.

  • Flow Injection AAS, FI-AAS: This is a flameless AAS technique utilizing the formation of volatile hydrides (or the elemental state in the case of mercury), this technique is used to determine elements like Mercury, Se, As, Sn and Te at very low concentration levels.

Ion Chromatography (IC)

A DIONEX™ IC allows rapid multi-element determination of the following parameters; nitrate, chloride, fluoride, nitrite, bromide, phosphate, and sulphate. This technique is generally applied to water analysis. Arrange of other traditional Analytical techniques are also utilised, these include; Gravimetry, Titrimetry, Spectrophotometry, and Electrometric methods.

Remote Sensing Laboratory

Aerial photographs when viewed through a stereoscope create a three-dimensional (3-D) image of an area. The Remote Sensing Laboratory is an archive of these aerial photographs providing all-island coverage for the years 1941-1942, 1949, 1953-54, 1961, 1968, 1971 and 1980 including an exclusive 1951 series of Kingston and Montego Bay at a scale of 1: 12,500. Most of these photographs are rare and cannot be obtained elsewhere.

Optics Laboratory

Digital photography of petrographic samples (thin sections and polished sections) can be done. Guidance in mineral identification is also provided by appointment only.

Sample Type Applicable Tests/Parameters
Water Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn), Mercury (Hg), Aluminium (Al), Silicon (Si), Strontium (Sr), Chloride (Cl), Nitrate (NO3), Sulphate (SO4), Phosphate (PO4), Boron (B), Sulphide (S), Nitrate(NO2), Fluoride (F), Alkalinity, Hardness, pH, Conductivity, Total Dissolve Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Free and Total Cyanides (CN).
Soils/Rocks Chemical Assay (SO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, Na2O, K2O, MnO, LOI) Organic Matter, Chloride, PH, Sulphate(for construction related) Extractable Cations (k, NH4, Mg, Ca) Boron, Phosphate (for agriculture)
Physical Sieve analysis, loss angeles abrasion, soundness, specific gravity\density tests, water absorption, material finer than 200 mesh, clay and friable particles.