Team:WPI Worcester/HP/Silver
Lead Contamination in Your Drinking Water (survey)
Communication with professionals
Throughout the summer we communicated with various professionals regarding different aspects of our project. This included talking to various water testing companies, the FDA, and Dr. Scarlet Shell. The water testing companies contacted are listed below. The first company, Analytical Balance Corp. allowed us to visit and walked us through their lab and the different processes of testing for lead, as well as other contaminants. We asked all of the companies about how they tested water for lead contamination, how long testing took, and how expensive it was for the consumer. All tests used some sort of mass spectrometry because it detects lead below 1 part per billion, and it is an EPA approved test. The most common tests were inductively coupled plasma, or ICP, mass spectrometry, and flame test mass spectrometry. ICP is more efficient, and can test for multiple contaminants in a few hours. It usually takes companies between 3 and 14 day to get back to customers, and tests can range from $25 to over $150. In some cases we also asked what would be the response if they found a water sample contained lead. In this case, it depends on the state regulations, and where the lead contaminated sample came from.
Lead Detection
Analytical Balance Corp. (personal visit)
Barnstable County Health
BHC Company
Department of Public Health (DEP)
Geo Labs, Inc.
Hach
Metropolitan District Hartford, CT
New Britain Water Company
Northeast Environment Lab
Regional Water Authority (CT)
STL Westfield
Colorimetric Testing
IDEXX
Probiotic
FDA: classification of probiotic; difference in classification Professor Shell: microbiologist
Lead Poisoning Treatment
Valeant Pharmaceutical Lincoln Pediatrics Massachusetts Child Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Lead Clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital
