Environmental testing and analytical services

About NMI services

As Australia’s peak measurement body, the National Measurement Institute (NMI) can provide world-class environmental measurement services and solutions. With our state-of-the-art laboratories we can help you meet your regulatory and quality requirements.

To ensure our commitment to quality, our laboratories hold certifications and accreditations including:

• National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation
• ISO/IEC 17025: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
• Therapeutic Goods Administration licence to manufacture therapeutic goods.

We are leading metrology in many important areas, from food allergens to micro-plastics in water. We apply our range of specialist capabilities and novel technologies to our services.

We test a wide range of matrices

We specialise in testing: 

• drinking and saline water
• waste/industrial water and solids
• environmental water and solids
• soils including toxicity characteristic leaching procedure and elutriates
• sediments and other dredged material
• aquatic, marine and terrestrial biota
• biosolids
• air including ambient and indoor air, emissions, vapour intrusion
• other, for example, paint, oil, filter, swab.

Learn more about submitting air samples and aqueous samples.

Our testing capabilities

Pesticides

• Glyphosate (aminomethylphosphonic acid and glufosinate)
• Organochlorine pesticides (ocps)
• Organophosphorous pesticides (opps)
• Pesticide screen by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (gc-ms/ms) for:
  • OCPs
  • OPPs
  • synthetic pyrethroids
  • herbicides
  • fungicides
  • carbamates and more
• Pesticide screen by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
• Phenoxy acid herbicides
• Synthetic pyrethroids
• Triazine herbicides

Learn more about our Glyphosate analysis.

Volatile and semi-volatile organics

• Total recoverable hydrocarbons (C6-C40)
• Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX)
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) 
• Phenols 
• Monocyclic aromatics hydrocarbons
• Volatile halogenated hydrocarbons
• Alcohols
• Volatile organic compounds (United State Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) method 8260)
• Light hydrocarbons (C1-C5)
• Semi-volatile organic compounds (US EPA method 8270)
• Disinfection by-products
• Phthalate esters
• Bisphenol A

Learn more about our Total recoverable hydrocarbons testing service.

Inorganic anions and disinfection by-products

• Fluoride, chloride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, phosphate
• Chlorite, chlorate, bromate, iodide

Non-targeted organic screen

• As requested

Nutrient and physico-chemical tests

• Acidity (as caco3), alkalinity – bicarbonate, carbonate, hydroxide, hardness – calcium, magnesium and total 
• Ammonia, ammonium (calculating. Ph and ammonia-n analyses), nitrogen – total Kjeldahl, nitrogen – total 
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD)
• Speciation carbon – total carbon (TC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved carbon (DC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
• Chlorine (free), chlorine (total), chloramines, chlorine (total and free), oxidisability (bottled water only)
• Chromium – hexavalent (Cr 6+), iron – ferrous 
• Conductivity, ph, turbidity, colour (apparent), colour (true)
• Cyanide – amenable, cyanide–free, cyanide – WAD (weak acid dissociable), cyanide – total
• Detergent (MBAS), oil and grease
• Solids – total, solids – volatile, solids – total dissolved (grav.), solids – total dissolved (calc.), solids – fixed suspended, solids – total suspended (NFR)
• Sulphide – dissolved, sulphide – total

Organotins

• Monobutyl, dibutyl and tributyltin

Learn more about our testing for organotin in the marine environment.

Persistent organic pollutants (pops)

• Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), telomers 
• Dioxin and furan – polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans 
• Polybrominated diphenylethers (pbdes)
• Dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls
• Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (sccps)

Learn more about our testing for Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.

Learn more about our tests for Dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs)

• congeners or arochlors

Estrogens

• As requested

Trace and macro elements in fresh and marine water

• 52 elements

Trace elements speciation

• Lead and strontium isotopes

Microbiological tests

• Legionella
• Heterotrophic plate count
• Escherichia coli
• Total coliforms
• Faecal coliforms
• Clostridium perfringens

Permanent gases

• Oxygen
• Carbon dioxide

Persistent organic pollutants

• Dioxin and furan (US EPA method 23 and US method EPA TO-09)
• Dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (US EPA method TO-10)
• Polybrominated diphenylethers
• Short-chain chlorinated paraffins

Semi-volatile organic residues

• Pesticides
• Phenols
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (us epa method to-13, carb method 429)
• Polychlorinated biphenyl
• Sulphur compounds

Targeted volatile organic compounds and hydrocarbons based on

• US EPA method TO-15 — canisters
• US EPA method TO-17 — adsorption tubes

Non-targeted organic screen

• As requested

Trace metal and Inorganic residues

• 52 elements

Learn more about our test for Trace metal testing in complex matrices.

Consultancy services

We work with clients to provide solutions to problems in chemical analysis.

Our work relies on our specialised metrology facilities, which are unique in Australia.