Protecting water quality - Dee Avenue Laboratory
The Dee Avenue Laboratory analyzes industrial waste samples for compliance with the Sewers Bylaw. Other major sources of samples are from landfills, storm outfalls and the sewage treatment plants.
It does conventional tests such as biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, phosphorus, phenols and coliform bacteria, in a variety of ways. Metals are done by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, cations and anions by ion chromatography, and trace organics by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. A strong quality control/quality assurance program ensures the accuracy of reported data.