What Is an Environmental Testing Laboratory and How Do You Use One?

Updated

An environmental testing laboratory analyzes environmental samples—water, soil, and solid materials—to produce data you can use for regulatory compliance, permitting, or property decisions. You use one by choosing a lab accredited for the tests you need, following its sampling and preservation instructions, submitting samples with a chain of custody (COC) form, and receiving a report you can hand to a regulator or engineer. This guide covers what these labs do, the samples and tests involved, and how to engage one.

What an Environmental Testing Laboratory Does

An environmental testing laboratory receives physical samples from the field and runs analytical methods on them to measure specific parameters. The results are used to determine whether water, soil, or waste meets applicable standards.

First Environmental Laboratories, Inc. (FEL), based in Naperville, Illinois and incorporated in 1993, describes itself as providing a comprehensive range of analytical testing services with legally defensible data. Its stated customers include landfills, industrial facilities, municipalities, engineering firms, local/state/federal government, and the general public.

The core output is data. Because that data often supports permits, compliance filings, or legal matters, the lab's accreditation and documentation practices matter as much as the numbers themselves.

Samples These Labs Analyze

FEL's published service list groups testing by sample type:

Water

  • Drinking water
  • Groundwater
  • Wastewater
  • Surface water
  • Stormwater

Soil and solids

  • Soil
  • Solid materials

The lab states it is accredited to test drinking water, wastewater, soil, and solid materials. If your project involves a matrix not on this list, confirm with the lab before sampling—collecting samples a lab cannot analyze wastes time and money.

Common Tests and Parameters

Two areas are called out specifically in FEL's materials:

  • Lead and copper in drinking water. This is the classic corrosion and plumbing-related test set for drinking water systems.
  • Wastewater testing. FEL lists wastewater as a distinct service line, typically tied to discharge permits.

FEL also offers a basic homeowner package covering the more commonly requested drinking water parameters, and it is accredited to perform lead analysis in drinking water in compliance with Public Act 099-0922 (Illinois), which addresses lead in school and daycare drinking water.

For any project, the parameter list usually comes from a permit, a regulation, or an engineer's sampling plan—not from the lab's menu alone. Bring the requirement to the lab and let it confirm the method.

How to Submit Samples: COC Forms and Sampling Instructions

The submission workflow at FEL, based on its published resources, looks like this:

  1. Get sampling instructions. FEL publishes sampling instructions and preservation and holding times. Preservation and holding times define how a sample must be kept and how quickly it must be analyzed—miss either and the result may be invalid.
  2. Prepare containers. FEL provides container preparation, and lists a daycare bottle request as a specific container/service item.
  3. Collect and preserve the sample according to the instructions for your parameter.
  4. Complete a Chain of Custody (COC) form. The COC documents who collected the sample, when, and how it was handled. FEL offers both a standard COC form and a contactless COC option.
  5. Deliver or ship the sample to the lab.
  6. Receive your report and, where relevant, data deliverables for your engineer or regulator.

The COC is not paperwork for its own sake: it is what makes the data traceable and defensible. An incomplete COC is one of the most common reasons a sample has to be rejected or re-collected.

Accreditation and Legally Defensible Data

"Legally defensible" means the data can withstand scrutiny—from a regulator, an opposing party, or an auditor. That depends on the lab holding the right accreditation for the specific test, following approved methods, and maintaining documented chain of custody.

FEL states it has reported over 2 million accredited results and describes its mission as providing top quality and legally defensible analytical data in a timely and efficient manner. It also references an IEPA-related program (listed as the 1st TACO Program) and publishes accreditation downloads.

Practical check: before you commit to a lab, ask for its accreditation certificate and confirm your specific parameter and matrix are covered. Accreditation is method- and matrix-specific, so a lab accredited for drinking water lead is not automatically accredited for soil metals.

How to Choose a Lab

Use the same criteria for any candidate lab:

Criterion What to confirm
Accreditation Covers your exact parameter and sample matrix
Services Handles your matrix (water, soil, solids) and test type
Turnaround Meets your project or permit deadline
Reporting Provides the data deliverables your regulator or engineer requires
Sampling support Offers instructions, containers, and preservation guidance
Submission process COC process works for how you collect and deliver samples

FEL's stated approach is to work closely with consulting engineers on sampling plans, QA project plans, budgeting, container preparation, sample parameter requirements, permit requirements, analytical methodology, and data deliverables. If your project has an engineer or consultant, that coordination is often the deciding factor.

When You'd Actually Use One

  • A homeowner testing drinking water for lead and copper, or ordering a basic drinking water package.
  • A school or daycare required to test drinking water for lead under Illinois Public Act 099-0922.
  • A municipality or industrial facility with a wastewater discharge permit needing routine compliance testing.
  • A landfill or engineering firm needing soil or solid material analysis as part of a site investigation or permit application.

In each case the trigger is a requirement or a decision—not testing for its own sake. Start from the requirement, then pick the lab that is accredited for it and can meet your deadline.

Getting Started

FEL can be reached at 630-778-1200, with hours of operation Monday–Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm. Its site provides sampling instructions, preservation and holding times, accreditation downloads, a chain of custody form, a contactless COC option, and a daycare bottle request. Apple Pay appears among its listed payment options.

Before your first submission, confirm three things with the lab: that it is accredited for your specific test and matrix, what container and preservation your parameter requires, and what turnaround and reporting format your deadline demands.