American Analytical Laboratories LLC strives to produce high quality, accurate data, and provide prompt analytical services.
Our approach to business is guided by commitments to the following principles:
- Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, while protecting the environment
- Maintain the highest standards of integrity; to build trust with our clients and staff
- Perceive the firm as more than just a business, and focus instead on the technical aspects of our work, emphasizing quality, customer service and flexibility
Our business faces many challenges and opportunities. Due to their direct impact on our staff and our stakeholders, we have prioritized the following issues that need to be addressed: Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Hazardous Chemical Use, Recycling / Waste Management, and Chemical Management.
- We believe in using the Earth’s resources wisely as we analyze environmental samples and report analytical data to our clients.
- We believe we have the power to make a positive human impact on the diverse people we interact with.
- Our attention to environmental, social, and economic responsibility includes working within the federal and state regulations and voluntarily exceeding the regulatory requirements in order to be innovative and demonstrate leadership on the issues that are important to us and our stakeholders.
Given the high energy use in lab buildings, sustained research on improving efficiency in new facility design is clearly needed. It is equally important to consider ways in which existing facilities can be run in order to minimize the carbon impact of their operations. Buildings can live up to their designed optimal efficiency potential only if the buildings operators and users have the proper knowledge.
American Analytical Facility and Lab Managers have been given the resources to develop and enact efficient operational and maintenance programs for our specific facility and its users. These behavioral changes have had a great sustained impact on the buildings energy performance over its lifetime. The change not only lowers our facility’s energy bill, but it also motivates the staff to a cultural shift toward efficiency.
Laboratory Sustainability:
Energy Conservation:
Lighting
Compact fluorescent and LED bulbs are used rather than incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent lighting uses less energy.
Task lighting is used to cut down on the intensity of ambient light needed.
Lights switched off in unmanned areas.
Equipment
New instrumentation is energy star rated. Has auto shut off and sleep mode.
Microwave extraction, method 3546 – minimizes solvent waste
HVAC system is geothermal unit, which cools air underground prior to introduction to building.
Maintenance of Refrigerators and Freezers
Eliminating excess ice and dust increases the efficiency of the compressor. Defrost the freezer, and routinely vacuum condenser coils.
Regularly clean out old samples. Proper management of sample storage leads to more efficient use of freezer space.
Regular maintenance and servicing of equipment
This can help it to run more efficiently in terms of energy consumption.
Turn equipment off when not in use with minimal planning, equipment such as chilled centrifuges, ovens and GCs can be turned on and off to conserve energy. Equipment is marked with warm-up times and indicates whether it is stable enough to be turned on and off.
Hard drives (computers) switched off or on power save.
Monitors switched off or on power save.
Printers & photocopiers switched off or on power save.
Appliances switched off when not immediately in use.
Water Conservation
Create awareness of water consumption and associated costs and environmental impacts of water usage.
Monitor consumption to detect leaks and identify improvement opportunities.
‘Right-sizing’ water using equipment for laboratory tasks.
Conserve by using purified water appropriately and sparingly.
Hazardous Chemical Use
New instruments for prep tasks use less solvent.
New instruments for GCMS require less gas.
Waste streams are segregated for disposal. Hazardous waste is never comingled with non-hazardous waste.
Recycling/Waste Reduction
Minimize paper usage, all results delivered electronically.
Recycle paper and cardboard.
Printer cartridges are sent back to manufacturer for recycling.
Obsolete lab equipment recycled, including by exchange, sale or auction.
Chemical Management
Chemical bottles are labeled correctly, inventoried, and are stored in centralized area. This minimizes over-ordering.
Waste bottles are labeled correctly, and are stored in a secure area for disposal.
We commit to:
- Minimize environmental impacts in the areas of waste, water, energy, and air quality.
- Create innovative approaches to minimize negative environmental impacts, improve economic bottom line, and integrate energy efficiency and waste reduction into our daily operations.
- Ensure our supply chain has responsible social and environmental practices.