Water Sample Shipping Made Easy

Logistics have always been a struggle for water testing labs and customers, especially since traditional grab sampling is the most common technique to obtain a water sample. Field technicians must treat the water sample with care and pay special attention to adhere to strict logistical procedures required to achieve accurate testing results.

Typical logistical concerns for water testing labs involve the preparation of sampling collection materials, including preparing the coolers, the bottles, protective packing materials, inhibitors, chain of custody forms, extra bottles, etc. Often, shipping must be expedited to ensure the water sample(s) arrive at the water test lab still cold.

The CLAM brings the water testing lab into the field and quantitatively extracts the trace organics from the water sample using EPA-approved solid phase extraction methodology, leaving the water behind. This saves the client the headaches typically associated with grab sampling logistics, such as costs of shipping multiple coolers of bottles, water sample collection holding time limits (usually 7 days which the sample must be extracted), and lab extraction costs. It is often the case that the shipping costs alone exceed the lab testing and water analysis costs.

Logistical Benefits Summarized

• Cost savings on materials – no bottles or coolers are required, so the expenses associated don’t exist. These cost savings extend to the labor normally required to prepare and ship the water samples.
• No shipping of the water sample(s) – It’s left behind, and the pre-extracted disk media is submitted to the water testing laboratory for simple solvent elution.



• No 7-day holding times – The holding times issue is a moot point, as the SPE cartridges have already been extracted and can be frozen for 2 months up to one year, depending on the analyte to be tested.
• Easier and cheaper to ship – There’s no longer a reason to ship multiple coolers packed with ice to ensure the water samples remain cold. In fact, since the cartridges weigh just a few ounces, they can usually be shipped for a fraction of what it costs when shipping traditional grab samples.
• Save on labor costs – As previously mentioned, there won’t be as much labor associated with shipping the samples. In addition, CLAM’s SPE cartridges are extracted in the field by the client, and only require solvent elution and concentration when they arrive at the lab prior to analysis. This can also save in time and cost of solvents required to extract it by liquid/liquid extraction.