EPA’s Pacific Southwest (Region 9) implements and enforces federal environmental laws in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and 148 tribal nations.

• What We Do
• Organization
• Biology Team | Chemistry Team | Field Team
• Field Projects Managed by the Lab

What We Do

The Region 9 Laboratory is a full service, state-of-the-art facility specializing in chemical analysis, biological analysis and field sampling services.

Organization

Peter Husby, Director

• Phone: (510) 412-2311
• Email: husby.peter@epa.gov

Biology Team

The lab provides a diverse range of biological laboratory services to support program offices of EPA, states, and tribes in Region 9. The types of assistance available include aquatic and sediment toxicity testing and microbiological testing on drinking water, ambient water, wastewater effluent, and ground water samples to verify the presence or absence of and quantify bacteria indicating fecal contamination. The team also provides analytical support, technical assistance, and training in these three areas. Also find related links to sources of EPA test methods, sediment toxicity, and more. The biology staff are an ongoing resource for technical assistance in biological methods and field sampling techniques, reviews of regional and state projects, and water resources assessment and monitoring programs.

Chemistry Team

The lab has a wide range of analytical chemistry capabilities to support environmental decision-making. Environmental samples are analyzed for organic and inorganic contaminants in a variety of media including water, soil/sediment, air and animal tissue. Lab analytical services generate data to support many of EPA’s programs including RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund), drinking water monitoring, air quality monitoring, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.

Field Team

Field services include collecting environmental samples, conducting field audits of EPA contractors who are collecting samples for performing site investigations, conducting on-site field analyses at Superfund sites (supported by mobile laboratories), and providing technical assistance and training to other EPA program offices. Region 9's field staff also work on several field projects to assess environmental quality in the Pacific Southwest.

Current and Recent Field Projects Managed by the Lab

• Regional Environmental Monitoring Assessment Program (REMAP)
• Bioassessment of Water Quality in the Walker River Drainage, Nevada
• Participation in the National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissues
• RCRA Field Sampling at Sunrise Mountain Landfill in Las Vegas, NV
• Using in situ probes to make continuous measurements of water quality parameters at drainage watersheds near Rio Tinto Mine (Mountain City, NV) and Lynx Hassayampa Watershed (Prescott, AZ)

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