Purchase of Hand Held X-Ray Fluoresence (HHXRF) analyser for environmental samples

Tender description

Natural Resources Wales has a statutory duty to undertake monitoring of various environmental matrices utilising various instrumental techniques in order to comply with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive plus other associated environmental directives.Many samples received at NRW’s Swansea laboratory are of unknown composition and their contents may be hazardous or toxic. Such samples undergo a risk assessment (RA) prior to being released for analysis, however, the array of tests advised in the RA does not allow for a comprehensive assessment of their composition.e.g they may contain high concentrations of metals which requires extensive dilutions for analysis taking up valuable time and may lead to contamination of the instrument.The purchase of a Hand Held XRF will allow NRWAS to quickly screen samples of unknown composition and determine the most efficient way of performing subsequent analysis, significantly reducing the amount of effort required. The HHXRF would also highlight the presence of toxic elements (predominantly metals and elements above magnesium in the periodic table) which would allow appropriate safeguards to be put in place prior to analysis.