WETLAB in Sparks adds 'Ammonia Nitrogen by Timberline' certification

SPARKS, Nev. — Western Environmental Testing Laboratory (WETLAB) announced in late December testing abilities at the company’s Sparks laboratory have been expanded with the addition of the "Ammonia Nitrogen by Timberline" certification.

According to a Dec. 28 press release, WETLAB is now certified in Nevada to analyze the measurement of ammonia in surface, ground, storm runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater and saline waters.

“This procedure takes between one and half to two and half minutes per sample analysis,” according to the release. “Additionally, without distillation of the samples, this allows for rapid determination and a wide dynamic range to meet clients’ regulatory detection requirements.”

Per the release, the test takes samples of ammonia nitrogen and preserves them with sulfuric acid to a pH <2 in order to convert all of the dissolved ammonia into the stable ionized NH4+ form.

"During the analysis, NH4+ is converted back to NH3 (g) by raising the pH with a strong base. The ammonia gas is passed through a hydrophobic membrane to determine the ammonia concentration in aqueous solutions," according to WETLAB. "These samples should be collected in a plastic or glass container and preserved with Sulfuric Acid pH <2 and refrigerated at 2°-6° C. Samples that are preserved upon collection have a 28-day hold time."