Test for 97 Potential
Drinking Water Contaminants

For the longest time we have mentioned a company called National Testing Laboratories and a number of their testing products, but thus far we have not really talked about the company and why we keep mentioning them.

At some point between 2005 or 2007 one of the founders — and main writers for this site — had the pleasure of meeting a person of importance at National Testing Laboratories staff while working at a (National Ground Water Association [NGWA]) trade show.

Over the following months (and years) the information learned about National Testing Laboratories from his contact at the company and from independent sources made him a solid believer in the company’s firm commitment to providing accurate, affordable and reliable water testing services to both the general public and the private sector.

And in National Testing Laboratories’ own words. . .

The National Testing Laboratories, Ltd. network of certified laboratories performs drinking water analysis for customers worldwide according to US EPA and standard methods. We test for compliance and informational purposes and hold certifications across the U.S. Our laboratories successfully participate in US EPA Proficiency Testing Programs. We offer test packages to meet federal, state, FDA and International Bottled Water Association requirements. We maintain memberships in the Water Quality Association, Eastern Water Quality Association, International Bottled Water Association, Canadian Bottled Water Association, Northeast Bottled Water Association, National Ground Water Association, and many other national or regional associations. Members of our technical staff are contributing members of various IBWA and WQA committees. ( source )

And, just because it will save us a lot of typing, take a look at what else National Testing Laboratories has to say about itself. Yeah, we took the easy way out on this company profile, but WHY reinvent the wheel, right?

National Testing Laboratories (NTL) is one of the largest independent laboratories in the U.S. specializing in the analysis of drinking water for chemical and microbiological contamination. The corporate office in Cleveland, Ohio is integral to the operation of our laboratory facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. For more than 25 years, we have offered a wide range of services for residential and commercial customers. Commercial customers include public water systems (city water), environmental consultants, engineers, water treatment professionals, bottled water plants, well drillers, food producers, pharmaceutical companies, laboratories and home inspectors. In 1998, Environmental Hazards Services, LLC. (EHS) of Richmond, Virginia was added to the network. EHS offers analysis for lead and asbestos in air and solids. Their strength is in high-quality analysis with very short turnaround time. The addition of EHS further enhances the broad capabilities of the network to better serve valued customers.

The network laboratories perform analysis according to USEPA and standard methods to meet state compliance in addition to performing informational tests for quality control purposes. Certifications are held across the country to meet customers’ needs. Network laboratories successfully participate in the USEPA, NIST and AIHA Proficiency Testing Programs and rank in the top percentile when compared to all other participants. ( source )

So there you have it; straight from the horse’s mouth. Wait. Did we just call ourselves a HORSE? Never mind. Moving on.

Don’t they just want to sell me a water treatment system?

Many times in the past we have advised folks interested in having their water tested to steer clear of water testing offers by companies who ALSO just happen to sell water treatment systems… because those companies ONLY want to find a problem (real or semi-real) and sell a product to fix the ‘problem’ their testing revealed.

Since National Testing Laboratories does not sell any water treatment equipment, you won’t have to worry about some pushy salesperson giving you the old ‘razzle-dazzle’ water chemistry show in your home and then pressuring you into buying a (potentially worthless) water treatment system at an inflated price.

National Testing Laboratories’ test kits work using mail-in submission methods… so no commission-hungry sales droid will ever go near your home. A definite plus in our book!

I have 2 questions that I am not finding answers to on this blog. I could be overlooking the answers. 1) is there a home test kit for THM’s and HAA5? 2) I purchased some property & I would like to test a pond on the property for contaminates other than the drinking water quality home test kit variables such as fossil fuel/petroleum contamination and other pollutants.

For those who do not know, THM’s stands for trihalomethanes and HAA5 stands for haloacetic acid. Both compounds fall in the category of disinfection byproducts, or chemical products created when a disinfectant acts on a contaminant in water. In recent years health officials have determined that exposure to these compounds can increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.

With regard to KC’s question about THM and HAA5 test kits, we do not know of any at-home drinking water test kits for these compounds. Testing for disinfection byproduct levels requires a laboratory environment.

If you wish to test for these two compounds you will have to use a kit that you mail into a certified drinking water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories. Within about (2) two weeks after receiving your water they will issue a lab report telling you all sorts of interesting things about your water — including how many disinfection byproducts your water contains, if it has any at all.

National Testing Laboratories offers several different testing options, but their most popular water testing option provides sample submitters with analysis of their water for a total of 83 different water quality parameters:

• Bacteria (presence/absence for coliform and E.coli),
• (19) heavy metals and minerals,
• (6) other inorganic chemicals,
• (5) physical characteristics,
• (4) trihalomethanes and
• (47) volatile organic chemicals.

Worried about other things such as pesticides, herbicides and PCB’s? National Testing Laboratories offers a water testing option that includes all of the above tests plus an an additional check for (20) pesticides, herbicides and PCB’s. They gave it a really long name, WaterCheck with Pesticides Laboratory Analysis Water Testing Kit, and it test for a total of 97 different water quality parameters.