The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a new validated method for testing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. Babcock Laboratories played a valuable role in the EPA’s validation study for Method 533 and is well-equipped to offer additional PFAS analyses to water agencies interested in a more comprehensive look into their source waters.
Babcock Labs is a 2019 Top Workplace!
Babcock Laboratories, Inc. is honored to announce that it has been named a Top Workplace in the Inland Empire for a third year in a row!
On Sunday December 7th, the Press Enterprise announced the 2019 Top Workplaces in the Inland Empire and Babcock Labs was ranked as a Top Workplace in the small business category. We believe this award serves as well-deserved praise of our employee owners who have made and continue to make Babcock Labs a great place to work.
This year the Inland News Group and its survey partner Energage invited 807 organizations in the Inland Empire to participate in the 6th annual Top Workplaces program. More than 30,000 employees were surveyed and 35 companies and organizations were honored as a Top Workplace. Companies were divided into large, mid and small size businesses. The Top Workplace Award is awarded to companies whose employees ranked their company high in areas such as benefits, leadership, training, compensation and workplace culture.
This is the 4th time Babcock Laboratories has received this award. It is a privilege to be a 2019 Top Workplace. We are grateful for our team’s continued confidence in and dedication to our organization, and we could not be more proud of our team!
PFAS in CA: Phase I Results
This month the State Water Resources Control Board posted the first results of testing for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) for nearly 600 drinking water supply wells. This testing was performed as part of a comprehensive effort to assess the presence of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—coined “forever chemicals—in water systems and groundwater statewide.
Water News: PPIC Policy Update
A milestone law to address the state’s drinking water challenges, which was signed by Governor Newsom earlier this year, established a $1.3 billion Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. In line with its broader policy focus on climate resilience, the administration is also creating a Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative, a collaborative effort by various state agencies to ensure water resilience in the face of a changing climate.
Lab Accreditation: ELAP Publishes Proposed Regulations
On October 11th, 2019, the California Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) published notice of its proposed regulations concerning the accreditation of environmental laboratories. The proposed regulations make changes to California’s state laboratory accreditation program and affect the requirements that the environmental testing laboratories must meet to analyze environmental samples for regulatory purposes in California. ELAP has called for the incorporation of the 2016 TNI Standard with two California-specific exceptions.
California Lowers Notification Levels for PFOA, PFOS
On August 23rd the State Water Resources Control Board released public notice of updated Notification Levels (NLs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. The Water Board’s decision to lower NLs for these “forever chemicals” was not unexpected, but did generate some concern over unintended consequences of the plan. The new NLs are set at 5.1 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 6.5 ppt for PFOS. There has been no change to the Response Levels (RLs) for these contaminants. The original media release from the Water Board is as follows: