Superfund Analytical Services / Contract Laboratory Program

Basic CLP Information

Each year, analytical chemists in laboratories throughout the United states analyze hundreds of thousands of samples from hazardous waste sites.  The basic questions being answered by these chemists are – “What are the contaminants of most concern at each site?” and "What are the levels of these contaminants in their respective media (air, soil, water)?"  The answers to these questions form the basis for how EPA decides to cleanup a particular site and how EPA knows it has reached its cleanup goals at any given site.  A site may have only one primary contaminant or it may have many.  Rigorous analytical tests are the only way to be certain of the scope of the contaminant problem.

Superfund’s Analytical Services Branch (ASB) is a primary provider of site-specific analytical data of known and documented quality.  This web site contains resources for ASB's Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) and other ASB services, products, and tools. For more information on what the CLP does, how the CLP works, who is involved, and the benefits it provides, visit our CLP Overview and Benefits page.

Please also read the Welcome Letter from the Branch Chief.

Analytical Services & Methods

ASB provides routine analytical services through the CLP. These services include multi-media, multi-concentration Organic and Inorganic analyses. CLP Modified Analyses allow CLP customers to customize their analytical services requests by specifying analytes, modifying detection limits, and outlining other project-specific requirements.

ASB also provides several non-routine analytical services, including multi-media, multi-concentration analysis of dioxins/furans, chlorinated biphenyl (CB) congeners, and volatile organics in air.

Learn more about these programs on the Analytical Services page. ASB also provides these related services:

• Data Assessment
• Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC)

Products and Tools

ASB is committed to assisting clients, laboratories, samplers, and other members of the analytical community in the assessment and analysis of environmental hazardous waste samples. From sample collection to data validation, ASB provides guidance documents, software, and access to systems to help users with many aspects of the analytical process.

Learn more on the Products and Tools page.