Mission
EHL analyzes compressed air samples for Washington state fire departments, divers and educators.
We provide analytical and consulting services to employers and labor through support of industrial hygiene and occupational medicine professionals. Our expertise is in chemical hazard identification, monitoring, and analysis.
Support training of industrial hygiene and occupational medicine professionals in chemical hazard assessment.
Research and develop new methods for workplace monitoring and exposure science.
The Environmental Health Laboratory (EHL)
EHL, with support from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, provides industrial hygiene no-cost consultations, analytical services, and sample analyses to labor organizations, employers, and workers in Washington State. We also provide analytical support for the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Field Research and Consultation Group and exposure sciences degree program.
Typical services include analyses of breathing air from compressed air tanks, metals, hexavalent chromium, and crystalline airborne silica in workplace environmental samples. Our collaboration with agencies and scientists regularly cross departmental boundaries.
The Trace Organics Analysis Center (TOAC)
TOAC is supported by research grants and income from fee-for-service analyses.
Services include a wide range of chemical analyses and method development for specific analytical needs. TOAC also provides consultation services on topics such as sampling, choice of analytical technique, and identifying possible chemical candidates for assessment.
EHL/TOAC serve as a nexus between departments, PIs, staff and students in many situations. This provides a continual opportunity for impactful science, building relationships and strengthening projects.
History
The Environmental Health Laboratory began in the 1940s as the Environmental Research Lab within the Preventive Medicine division of the UW School of Medicine. Since that time, the Preventive Medicine division has become the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and the Environmental Research Lab has grown into the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. The EHL's laboratory-based services, teaching and research mission have continued to the present day.
DEOHS Labs were renovated and modernized in 2021 with a generous gift from Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn and his wife, Martha A. Darling. The renovations included updates to existing department spaces designated for molecular toxicology, vivarium, cell culture, microbiology and field research labs. A new biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) lab was included, along with new EHL space for trace metals sample prep, mass spectrometry and gas calibration/analysis labs. Dr. Omenn is former dean of the UW School of Public Health and former DEOHS chair.
Accreditation
The EHL has been accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) since 1977 and is ISO/IEC 17025 compliant. Accordingly, we have a robust quality assurance program in place. AIHA certification requires quarterly proficiency testing, annual audits and biennial inspection.
EHL is accredited for breathing air, toxic metals, hexavalent chromium, and crystalline airborne silica analyses through the AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs, LLC.
Certificate of Accreditation (Lab ID: 101871)
Check out the AIHA-LAP Program for more details.