Lectures on Wastewater Analysis and Interpretation - Softcover

Smith, Roy-Keith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1890911100 ISBN 13: 9781890911102

Publisher: Genium Publishing Corporation,, 1999

Synopsis

Until now, those studying for the Wastewater Laboratory Analyst Certification exam have been forced to pick up bits and pieces of the information required for the exam from scattered references, each covering only a small part of the exam. This new text compiles a broad range of information and neatly summarizes each of the required subject areas.

The book evolved from a series of lectures delivered by the author in a ongoing 40-hour training class designed to prepare students for the Wastewater Laboratory Analyst Certification exam administered by the Association of Boards of Certification and other certifying authorities or licensing agencies. This exam tests the level of knowledge that operators of treatment plants and lab analysts must have to properly interpret test results.

The book applies to all four classes of certification from basic skills used by treatment plant operators or lab technicians performing process control tests through more advanced and expert qualifications required of analysts and laboratory managers. Unlike study guides that merely provide practice questions for those preparing to sit for an exam, this text gives the reader a complete practical background in the chemistry needed to perform and interpret the tests.

Included are sections covering instrument testing - metals, gas chromatography, and mass-spectrometry. Each instrument and its operation is described along with guidelines for identifying analytes and interpreting results, sample preparation, and quality control. A major portion of the book examines traditional testing methods. Over 25 parameters are covered. Each chapter in this part of the book discusses what compounds may be found in wastewater samples, the chemistry of each testing method, sample preparation and quality control, and the calculation of results. The final portion of the book looks at training and preparation for the Certification exam. By following the outline for the author's own 40-hour course, the reader can determine how much time and effort should be spent on each topic. Other lectures in the book address general topics including the regulatory framework, quality assurance, process control calculations, data interpretation, and Performance Based Measurement Systems (PBMS).

The text can be used as part of a formal lecture presentation or as a stand-alone self-study instruction manual. Although the lectures are oriented for the new analyst, seasoned veterans will find many nuggets of useful information as well. The book is also helpful for environmental engineering personnel who want more insight into the chemistry of analysis.

About this title

About the Author

The author is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. Formerly a research faculty member in chemistry at California Institute of Technology, Dr. Smith has also been a faculty member of Southern College of Technology. He is currently Analytical Methods Manager for Analytical Services, Inc. of Norcross, GA, and is licensed as both a Water and Wastewater Laboratory Analyst in the state of Georgia. He has worked as a technician, scientist, and manager of environmental analysis laboratories, and has developed and presented industrial education courses on environmental analysis and related topics for Hewlett Packard and Fisher Scientific. Dr. Smith has also developed continuing education courses on Analysis of Solids, Air Pollution and Monitoring, Organic Parameters, and Physical, Chemical, and Biological Parameters, which have been certified by the State of Georgia Board of Water and Wastewater. Author of numerous books and papers, Dr. Smith has previously written the Handbook of Environmental Analysis and co-authored Environmental Laboratory Data Evaluation for Genium Publishing.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Preface Most scientific disciplines claim that they stand upon the shoulders of giants as the practitioners modestly describe their additions to the knowledge base of the science. In the wastewater analysis field it is perhaps more appropriate to say that we sit upon the shoulders of giants. We would like to think that progress is being made in the wastewater analysis field, however, what is most commonly seen is a rapid degradation in the knowledge base. Sometimes when surveying the lack of progress that has been made over the last 30 years I tend to feel that we actually sit at the feet of giants, waiting for them to tell us stories of chemical amazement.

A majority of people who are employed in the wastewater business are under the impression that laboratories are black boxes. You collect a sample and send it to the lab. The black box of the lab does something to the sample and sends you back a report with results. Then you use the results to make decisions - sometimes decisions that are quite costly or have significant public health ramifications. A further illusion is that all laboratory black boxes generate identical products (information) just like boxes of Tide detergent found at different supermarkets. Each box of Tide is identical and the only differentiating factor is cost. The different supermarkets charge different prices based on economy of scale, where the market is located, how much the employees are paid, the size and upkeep of the building, etc.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Each laboratory is different. The equipment they use is different. The methods used vary from one lab to the next. The level of implementation of the methods varies from cursory to complete. The range of technical ability of the laboratory workers varies widely from totally untrained to highly competent, degreed, and licensed analysts. The results on the final analytical report could represent anything from a slam-bang, take-it or leave-it single attempt at the test on the sample (including a dry-lab result) to a technically detailed and verified examination.

The major difference between just any laboratory and a competent laboratory is the level of training of the analysts. And it is not simply the number of BS, MS, or Ph.D. degrees that are employed in the lab. The degree-granting educational programs only prepare a person to learn. The actual presentation/ acquisition of relevant facts and melding them together to make knowledge is the responsibility of the laboratory training officer.

These lectures are the written version of a course I have been teaching for several years at Analytical Services, Inc. and the Georgia Water and Wastewater Institute. I flatter myself by thinking that these are the facts that are needed to make a capable bench level analytical chemist in our industry. Well, at least they have proven many times over to be sufficient preparation for passing the ABC Analyst Certification exams.

Edition details

• Publisher: Genium Publishing Corporation,
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1890911100
• ISBN 13: 9781890911102
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 492