Laboratory Services
In 2017, with generous support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, WSU Vancouver established the Water Chemistry Facility, a state-of-the-art water chemistry laboratory equipped with an Agilent 7900 ICP MS, a DIONEX Ion Chromatograph, and a Hach Dissolved Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Analyzer. Together, these instruments can be used to detect and quantify a broad range of elements and ions. In addition to its own research, the facility also offers its services to researchers, governmental users, and the private sector.
New users should explore the new user registration below. Sample submission and rate information can be found below as well.
Analytical Capabilities
WSU Vancouver’s Water Chemistry Facility is a state-of-the-art water chemistry laboratory equipped with an Agilent 7900 ICP MS, a DIONEX Ion Chromatograph, and a Hach Dissolved Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Analyzer. Together, these instruments can be used to detect and quantify a broad range of elements and ions, as summarized in the following table.
List of analytes by instrument| ICPMS Major Elements | Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe |
| ICPMS Trace Elements | Ag, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ge, Hf, Ho, Ir, La, Lu, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pd, Pr, Pt, Re, Rh, Ru, S, Sc, Sb, Se, Si, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tb, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn, Zr |
| Ion Chromatograph Anions | Fluoride, Chloride, Nitrite, Bromide, Sulfate, Phosphate |
| Ion Chromatograph Cations | Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ |
| Dissolved Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Analyzer | Total organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, total nitrogen, total dissolved nitrogen |
Agilent 7900 ICP-MS 
Our Agilent 7900 ICP-MS uses a high-temperature argon plasma torch to ionize atoms in samples. Once ionized, sample atoms are routed through a mass spectrometer, which separates and detects sample constituents according to their mass and charge. The Agilent 7900 has a dynamic solution concentration range due to argon dilution capabilities, making it possible to run samples in the ppm range as well as very low (below parts per trillion) levels for trace elements.
The Agilent 7900 ICP-MS can be used to analyze a diverse array of solution sample types with widely varying solute concentrations, for example from freshwater, seawater, soil extracts, dissolved minerals, and digested plant and animal tissue.
Elements in the periodic table shown to the left are color-coded according to approximate ICP-MS detection capabilities, where ppt is parts per trillion and ppb is parts per billion (image courtesy of PerkinElmer, Inc.). Elements detected by an ion chromatograph are also included and indicated with orange crosses.
Ion Chromotograph
Ion chromatographs (ICs) separate anions by pushing them onto a selectively retentive exchange column, eluting them sequentially, and measuring the change in conductivity as anions pass through a detector. The ThermoFisher Integrion IC in our facility (shown above) allows for the simultaneous determination of concentrations of anions such as fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate at parts-per-billion levels, and with pre-concentration can measure these compounds down to parts-per-trillion levels. Additionally, this IC can be used to test for disinfectant by-products, such as bromate in tap or bottled water, perchlorate and haloacetic acids in drinking water, iodide and iodate in seawater, amines in wastewater, and more.
IL 550 TOC-TN Analyzer
The IL 550 TOC-TN analyzer measures total dissolved organic carbon and dissolved total nitrogen in solution at low parts per million concentrations.