Battelle HT CA letter 060520.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- W912DS22B0012
About this file
This document describes a federal contract opportunity for maintenance dredging of Flushing Bay and Creek in New York. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to dredge approximately 150,000 cubic yards of material to a depth of -15 feet Mean Lower Low Water plus 2 feet of allowable overdepth. Dredging must utilize a mechanical dredge with a closed clamshell environmental bucket due to state permit restrictions. Multiple scows and tugboats will be needed to perform dredging and transport operations. Dredged material must meet all federal, state, and local criteria for placement at a suitable, state-permitted upland site. Bidders must submit all required permits within 35 days of notification of being the apparent low bidder. Work is estimated to cost between $10-25 million and must commence within 5 days of notice to proceed, maintaining a production rate of 2,250 cubic yards per day. Dredging is anticipated to occur between September and November 2022. This is an unrestricted procurement by the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers New York District.
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To: Carole Peven McCarthy, Battelle
From: Virginia Zusman, QA Manager, Eurofins TestAmerica - Pittsburgh
Date: 6/5/2020
Re: Analyses exceeding holding times for Flushing Bay and Creek FNC Upland
This letter is in reference to the request for corrective actions received by the laboratory on June 2, 2020, specifically for samples analyzed for cyanide past the holding time and samples extracted for herbicides past the holding time.
In job 180-105207, 2 out of the 16 sediment samples had total cyanide reported from an analysis that was past the 14 day analytical holding time. This was not due to laboratory error, but to the high sulfide content of these samples. Sulfide interferes with the detection of cyanide and must be removed prior to analysis if it is present. These samples were originally distilled May 7, 2020, within the holding time, and sulfide was detected in the distillates of 9 samples.
The other 7 samples were able to be treated with cadmium chloride to remove the sulfide interference, but the levels in samples 180-105207-9 and -15 was too high for the treatment.
These samples required re-distillation, with the treatment added during the distillation to trap the sulfide before it could distill over. Sample -9 was received with 6 days of the 14 day holding time already gone, reducing the time for the laboratory to analyze and then re-analyze the sample within the holding time.
A similar situation occurred with job 180-105383. Sulfide was detected in the distillates of 12 samples. Of the 12, 6 were able to be treated to remove the interference during the initial analysis, but the other 6 required re-distillation, which occurred past the holding time. For this job, samples were taken April 27, 28, and 29, 2020, but were not received by the laboratory until May 6, 2020, losing as many as 9 days of the 14 day holding time.
Because of the reoccurrence of having to redistill samples past holding time, the laboratory is now treating all sediment samples and associated QC to remove sulfide during the distillation process. This was done with job 180-105504. None of the samples in this job require reanalysis, and the holding time was met for all.
For job 180-105656, the 8151A extraction holding time for herbicides was exceeded by 1 day for 4 out of the 8 samples. These samples were taken on May 4 and 5, 2020, but were not received by the laboratory until May 12, 2020, with half of the holding time already gone. In looking at the extraction backlog, the analyst made the error of seeing only the 4 samples in this job for which the holding time expired on May 19, and scheduled the samples to be extracted on that day. This was human error that was compounded by the samples being received so far into the holding time. The laboratory will have backlogs reviewed by a senior section analyst for scheduling purposes to avoid a repeat of this error.
In general the samples for these projects are received with very limited holding time or no holding time remaining.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 412-963-2425 or virginia.zusman@testamericainc.com or your Project Manager.
Sincerely, Virginia Zusman
Quality Assurance Manager Eurofins TestAmerica - Pittsburgh mailto:virginia.zusman@testamericainc.com
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .