Environmental Testing

What gets tested

• Stack emissions — particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and process-specific pollutants
• Ambient air quality at the boundary of the premises
• Effluent, before and after treatment, against the discharge standards for your category
• Soil, where contamination is suspected or where sludge is disposed on land
• Noise levels at the boundary, by day and by night
• Hazardous waste characterisation, for disposal and manifest purposes

The consent conditions drive the schedule

Your consent to operate specifies the monitoring frequency and the parameters. It is not a general obligation to test occasionally — it is a specific schedule, and departures from it are a breach of the consent regardless of whether the results would have been within limits.

Red category industries typically carry the heaviest monitoring requirements, orange less, and green least. The category is determined by the process rather than by the size of the operation.

Recognition of the laboratory matters

The pollution control board accepts reports from laboratories recognised under the Environment Protection Act, or accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

A report from an unrecognised laboratory will not be accepted for consent renewal or compliance reporting, however competent the testing. Confirming recognition before commissioning the work avoids repeating it.

Where results go wrong

• Sampling taken at a moment unrepresentative of normal operation
• Stack sampling done without isokinetic conditions, giving an inaccurate particulate figure
• Effluent sampled after dilution rather than at the designated point
• Samples not preserved correctly or delivered outside the holding time
• Testing against the wrong standard for the industry category
• Monitoring frequency not matching what the consent actually requires

How we handle it

1. 1 Reading the consent We establish exactly what your consent requires — parameters, points and frequency — since compliance is measured against that.
2. 2 Planning the sampling Sampling points and timing are set so the results represent normal operating conditions.
3. 3 Sampling Samples are drawn by trained personnel using the prescribed methods, with chain of custody recorded.
4. 4 Laboratory analysis A recognised laboratory analyses the samples against the applicable standards.
5. 5 Reporting A signed report is issued showing each parameter against its permissible limit.
6. 6 Interpreting exceedances Where a parameter exceeds the limit, we explain what it indicates and what corrective action the board will expect.

Frequently asked questions