Wastewater Standards - Your essential resource for Agilent ULTRA chemical standards

Importance of the Topic

Accurate detection and quantification of trace organic and inorganic contaminants in wastewater are essential for regulatory compliance, environmental protection and public health. Reliable certified reference materials and calibration standards ensure consistent analytical performance across laboratories, enable method validation and support data comparability for diverse water quality monitoring applications.

Objectives and Overview

This document presents an extensive portfolio of Agilent ULTRA chemical standards designed to meet U.S. EPA methods and international quality requirements. It describes available product categories, certification schemes, custom formulation services, and key reference materials for methods 601 through 680, 1311, and 1664. The scope includes purgeable VOCs, semivolatiles, pesticides, phenols, PCBs, PAHs, nitrosamines, nitroaromatics, extractables, and oil & grease mixtures.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Standards are formulated gravimetrically and/or analytically following ISO Guide 34 under Agilent’s ISO 9001 quality system. Lot-specific certificates of analysis report true values or certified values with expanded uncertainties. Three validation levels (Level I–III) define uncertainty reporting, homogeneity and stability testing, and full analytical characterization. Custom standards leverage Agilent’s 40+ years of manufacturing data and ISO 17025–accredited QC laboratory capabilities.

Used Instrumentation

• Gas chromatography with flame ionization (GC/FID), electron capture (GC/ECD) and nitrogen-phosphorus (GC/NPD) detectors
• Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) including capillary column analysis
• Purge-and-trap systems for VOC analysis
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV and fluorescence detection
• Gravimetric and volumetric preparation under controlled temperature and humidity

Key Results and Discussion

Agilent offers over 7 000 certified reference and calibration standards covering more than 100 EPA-specified analytes. Triple certification to ISO 9001, ISO 17025 and ISO Guide 34 provides robust assurances of material integrity. Pre- and post-fill analyses, stability protocols and homogeneity tests support reliable performance. Custom standards are available within 5–20 business days at three QC levels. Products are distributed globally with GHS-compliant labels and multilingual safety data sheets.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Simplified method development and validation for environmental, industrial, food and life-science laboratories
• Full workflow support from sample preparation to final reporting
• Consistency across instruments and sites via standardized calibration mixtures
• Reduced downtime through rapid turnaround on custom formulations
• Regulatory compliance for EPA methods 601–680, 1311 and 1664

Future Trends and Possibilities

Emerging analytes and stricter regulatory limits will drive demand for lower detection limits and expanded multiresidue mixtures. Integration of isotopically labeled spikes and high-resolution MS calibration standards will enhance accuracy and traceability. Digital tools for certificate access and supply chain tracking are likely to streamline laboratory workflows and data management.

Conclusion

Agilent’s comprehensive suite of wastewater standards addresses the full spectrum of EPA-defined analytes and beyond. Through rigorous certification, global distribution and custom formulation, laboratories can achieve precise, reproducible results that support environmental protection and regulatory compliance.