Frequently Asked Questions

A: If you’ve never brought a sample to our laboratory before, or if it’s been more than a year or so, we’ll need you to fill out a Customer Setup/Update Form so we can enter/update your information in our system. We will send your results report via email, so we require a valid email address. Your sample must be accompanied by a Chain-of-Custody form. Enter your name or your company name as the client, the phone number we should call if we have questions, and print the name of the person that collected the sample(s). Fill in the sample collection information including the description (or what you want to call each sample), the sample matrix and type, and the collection date and time for each sample. When whoever collected the samples drop them off at the lab, they’ll sign at the bottom that they’re relinquishing them to the lab, enter the current date and time, and check if the samples were transported on ice. Once the lab verifies that the sample information is correct and meets acceptance criteria, we sign the form and receive the samples at the same date and time. The lab will check and document the temperature of the samples at the time of receipt, and verify and document the pH of appropriate containers to ensure proper preservation.

A: When bringing samples to the ANRA Environmental Laboratory, please stop by our offices first to pick up your bottle(s). Ask to speak with someone in the lab and we will determine the appropriate sample containers required to fit your testing needs. We recommend only collecting your samples in the containers provided by the lab, which are available at no cost to you. Please do not bring samples collected in unapproved containers.

A: The powder or liquid contained in your bottle is a preservative. The analyses that will be performed from the sample in these containers require that preservative. Do not rinse it out before you fill it. If you allow the bottle to overflow, it will wash out the preservative, and we will be unable to properly perform the analysis.

A: The bottles we use for microbiological testing have volume lines on the container. These are the volumes required to perform the analyses, NOT fill lines. We require a small amount of sample to test for residual chlorine, prior to running the analysis. Please fill your container up to the shoulder of the bottle, which is ABOVE the volume mark, but BELOW the neck of the bottle. Please do not overfill the container because it is also required that enough air space is present in the bottle in order to ensure proper mixing of the sample.