York Durham Regional Environmental Lab

The YDREL lab is located at 901 McKay Road, Pickering, ON, L1W 3A3 and resides within the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant at the bottom of Squires Beach Road. 

From the East:  Take the 401 to Westney Rd., Westney Rd. South to Bayly St., Bayly St. West to Squires Beach Rd., Squires Beach Rd. South to Stop sign,first stop after guard house, turn left, first road on the right to the parking lot.

From the West: Take the 401 to Brock Rd., Brock Rd. South to Bayly St., Bayley St. East to Squires Beach Rd., Squires Beach Rd. South to Stop sign, first stop after the guard house, turn left, first road on the right to the parking lot.

Yes.

YDREL offers a full range of analysis to measure water quality for a number of situations, including bacteria and lead in drinking water as per Provincial requirements.

Testing packages for drinking water quality, wastewater system monitoring, ground and surface water assessment and industrial wastewater are also available.

Unfortunately, we do not provide onsite sampling services. To assist you with your own sampling, our containers come with a full set of instructions. Our sample admin team is available by phone should you have any questions.

We can provide you with various sample containers depending upon your analysis needs. Contact the lab for more information.

Expedited results delivery times are possible for some tests – please contact the laboratory for details.

The target compounds you are looking to analyze may be susceptible to change due to environmental factors such as volatilization, pH fluctuations or biodegradation. The addition of sample preservative stabilizes the sample so that analysis is most representative of the chemical/biological make up at the time of sampling. 

Use caution when handling and filling sample containers as some of the preservatives are acidic and/or corrosive and may cause irritation if contacted. Use of latex or nitrile gloves is strongly recommended. 

Please ensure the preservative is not lost due to overfilling the container or rinsing the container with sample prior to filling.

In some cases, new containers may be required.

Once you have your results, depending on the purpose of analysis, it is best to seek advice from either your local healthcare provider, Regional health unit or governing environmental institution.

Consultation with the pertinent regulatory body is recommended.

Please contact the lab at REL@durham.ca or 905-686-0041 to find out more information about pricing and packages.

One of our team members would be happy to provide you with a new copy. If it is a much older report that requires retrieval of archived data, there may be some costs associated with the regeneration of the report.

If you are submitting samples for microbial analysis, samples should be returned within 24 hours from the time of sampling to ensure microbial analysis hold times are met.

If a result RDL is higher than the criteria, how do we use that data?

Dilution of the sample matrix is the primary approach to combat or decrease the impact of interferences and the typical cause for raised RDLs. Dilution directly affects the RDL or detection limit by the same magnitude. The dilution itself can ensure instrument functionality and confidence in the reported data.

Subcontracting may be required if the laboratory is not accredited for the work requests or due to equipment malfunctions/downtime or other unexpected events at the laboratory.

The YDREL is accredited by the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation (CALA) to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard and licensed to perform drinking water testing through the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).  For a current listing of all accredited and licensed methods and analytes please see the laboratory scope on CALA’s website (Home - CALA) or contact the laboratory.

Rush turnaround times are available at a price twice that listed in the price book and results are generally ready within 5 business days. 

Please contact the lab at REL@durham.ca or 905-686-0041 to find out more information.

It is a document that connects the samples taken at your location to them being submitted and analyzed. 

It is important that it is completed in full, and all the information is provided to ensure the correct analysis is completed and the certificate of analysis is sent to the right contact. 

Incomplete Chain of Custodies can add delays to the processing of your samples. 

For more information contact the lab at REL@durham.ca or 905-686-0041.

What is QA/QC?

Data integrity and quality are at the core of our lab’s priorities. Our rigorous Quality System ensures complete confidence is in every piece of data we create. 

No data analysis is released without first passing the required QC checks for that suite of analysis and all submissions go through our QA/QC process.

A matrix or sample type can be referred to in general terms such as soil, water and air, however in some cases it is important to provide additional detail for comparison to the appropriate guideline or regulation. 

For example, it is often important to distinguish between surface water and ground water. 

The make up of a matrix can have a considerable effect on the chemical analysis. This effect is often referred to as matrix effects or matrix interference.

Most analytical testing procedures that fall under environmental regulations have a method specific holding time which the test must be completed. The hold time is the time period where the target analytes in the sample matrix remains most stable and representative of the chemical profile at the time of sampling. Holding times vary between analytes and preservation methods. 

Analytical testing procedures also require specific containers, preservation, storage requirements, and a minimum volume of sample to be used to perform the test method.  These may vary depending on the method used in the lab. 

For more information, contact the lab at REL@durham.ca or 905-686-0041. 

The use of an inappropriate container can mean using the wrong type of container, using a container that is pre-charged with the wrong preservative, is not made of the test appropriate material, etc. and this can have major implications on your test results.  Results could be biased high or low or be invalid. While in some cases, there may be no actual bias effect on the data, results could still be considered invalid because the effect of the inappropriate container cannot be accurately quantified. For example, submitting a bottle preserved with nitric acid (that is intended for metals) and requesting nitrogen parameters, will likely bias your nitrogen results very high because of the nitric acid. Sampling for volatile organic compounds in a plastic bottle, will likely bias your results low, since the VOCs will be lost through the plastic. The amount of bias either way can be sample dependent so it is not possible to accurately quantify how much results would be affected.   

Comments on Laboratory Analysis Reports are meant to acknowledge situations when sample data falls outside recommended control limits or when the laboratory modifies standard procedures to accommodate the sample and analysis. It provides a narrative of anything important or significant that occurred during the analysis process that the data reviewer should be aware of. 

Such comments may indicate that the detection limit was modified as a cause of target compound concentration, elevated moisture or insufficient sample volume. Other situations may include notes that a sample was analyzed past the hold time or the wrong type of container or preservative was used.  

The raising of Reported Detection Limits (RDL) can occur for a variety of reasons. 

The most common reasons are: 

Concentration exceeds upper calibration limit of the test instrument.

The most common reason to raise a detection limit is due to an adjustment of the concentration of the sample’s test parameter so that it can fall within the calibration limit of the test instrument. This would be necessary if the concentration of the test parameter within the received sample exceeds the upper calibration level of the instrument. In such cases, it is necessary to dilute the sample to bring it within the instrument’s calibration range. The dilution value required to bring it within the calibration range (known as the dilution factor) is also applied to the detection limit of the analysis. 

Matrix interference

Within the test sample there is a component which in some fashion interferes with the ability of the analyst to reliably quantify the parameter of interest. Often by diluting the sample, the interference is reduced to a point where an accurate quantification can be made. The dilution required (dilution factor) is subsequently applied to the Reported Detection Limit (RDL). 

Limited sample

If the amount of sample received for analysis is less than the minimum required by the lab, this will be reflected in the parameter’s Reported Detection Limit (RDL). Parameter RDLs are all based upon an often prescribed minimum weight or volume. 

Method Detection Limit

The Method Detection Limit (MDL) is the smallest analyte concentration that can be demonstrated to be different from zero or a blank concentration at the 99 per cent level of confidence. In other words, if a substance is detected at or above the detection limit, it can be reliably stated (with 99 per cent confidence) that the analyte is present  and there is a one per cent chance that the analyte is not present (false positive).  Note that for reporting purposes, any result at or above the detection limit must also meet qualitative identification criteria required by the test method. 

Reported Detection Limit

The Reported Detection Limit (RDL) is the lowest analyte concentration that can be reported with confidence for a specific method. (i.e. within specified limits of precision and accuracy during routine lab operations). 

The RDL is generally five to 10 times the MDL or equal to the lowest standard of the calibration curve but may be higher or lower in order to comply with regulatory or client requirements. The RDL is not a fixed multiple of the MDL, but the RDL must be greater than or equal to the MDL. 

Data less than the RDL are reported as <RDL or ND. Any applicable sample dilution factors will be applied to these values and reported appropriately.  

At the YDREL, the lab welcomes any feedback from our clients on how we can improve our services. Clients can either email the lab at REL@durham.ca, call 905-686-0041, leave a message in the suggestion box at the lab or complete a quick survey at Customer Service Feedback - Durham Region. When completing the survey, please select Works Department and include YDREL in the comments section.