Chemical Analysis Branch - News

The Chemical Analysis Branch, formerly known as the Laboratory Services Unit, is now part of TestSafe Australia, which is a testing and research organisation dedicated to improving public and workplace health and safety. The emphasis is on hazardous substances and sites, underground mines and general industry.

TestSafe Australia is part of the Office of WorkCover Authority (of NSW) and tests are done for many occupational hygienists and medical practitioners and companies throughout Australia.

The Chemical Analysis Branch is a NATA accredited laboratory with experienced staff and state of the art instrumentation for analysing a wide variety of occupational hygiene samples.

Analyses include crystalline silica taken on membrane filters, VOCs taken on charcoal sorbent tubes or passive samplers, biological monitoring via blood or urine tests for hazardous substances. For example, a new test has just been made available for the assessment of benzene exposure by analysis of the metabolite S-phenylmercapturic acid in urine and can be measured at low ppb levels by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

The photo below shows John Volpato of our laboratory in front of the X-Ray diffraction instrument (XRD) we use to determine alpha-quartz in respirable dust samples.

The laboratory also has an X-Ray Flourescence instrument that gives us an excellent capability to analyse a wide range of elements from the periodic table. Together with an XRD scan one can get a lot of information about a sample particularly if it is a mineral with a crystalline structure.

The laboratory is well resourced with gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers and liquid chromatograph instruments that enable us to provide aldehyde, acid, amine, PAH and pesticide analyses at trace levels. We are the sole providers for many of the tests we perform.