N.J. Admin. Code § 7:18-7.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:18-7.3 - Laboratory equipment, instruments and materials

(a) A laboratory performing toxicity tests shall have, on the premises and under the control of the laboratory supervisor, equipment and instruments that satisfy the requirements of (a)1 through 14 below and N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3.

1. For materials used in the construction of toxicity testing systems, test organism culturing systems, and sample collection, handling, and transport systems:

i. The laboratory shall use only materials listed as "Approved" in Table 7.3 below for the type of test organism in question.

Table 7.3

Materials for constructing toxicity testing systems,

test organism culturing systems, and

sample collection, handling and transport systems

Test Organisms

Material	Vertebrate	Invertebrate
Glass, borosilicate, tempered, or soda lime	Approved	Approved
Stainless steel, # 304 or 316	Approved	Approved
Medical grade or food contact silicone, sealant,	Approved	Approved
tubing, and stoppers
Perfluorocarbon plastics	Approved	Approved
Polyethylene, white or clear	Approved	Approved
Polypropylene	Approved	Approved
Polycarbonate	Approved	Approved
Polystyrene	Approved	Approved
Acrylic	Approved	Approved
Tygon (R), clear or black	Approved	Not Approved
(except for
Mysids)
Nylon	Approved	Approved
Fiberglass	Approved	Approved
Potable water or food contact grade polyvinyl	Approved	Approved
chloride
Rubber, Neoprene and Gum Latex	Not Appro	Not Approved
ved
Ceramic (Aluminum Oxide)	Approved	Approved

ii. The laboratory shall use glass, stainless steel, ceramic and perfluorocarbon plastics whenever possible for components that come in contact with wastewater samples;

iii. If the laboratory uses silicone, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, Tygon(R), polycarbonate and polystyrene plastics for a component that comes in contact with wastewater samples, it shall either discard the component after a single use, or demonstrate that the component can be decontaminated, without significant degradation, by one or more cleaning procedures listed in N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(c). To demonstrate that the component can be decontaminated, the laboratory shall:

(1) Clean the component in accordance with the applicable procedures under N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(c) after using the component to conduct a compliance toxicity test;

(2) Remove the component, taking an adequate sample of each type of material being used;

(3) Segregate each type of material into a separate container, just large enough to completely immerse the materials in laboratory pure water. The laboratory shall have cleaned the container using the procedure under N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(c) appropriate to the test organism used;

(4) Soak the component in laboratory pure water for 24 hours;

(5) Decant a sufficient volume of water from each container (or groups of containers of like materials) to analyze for the organic compounds, metals and trace elements listed in N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(b)1;

(6) Perform an analysis for each type of material for which the laboratory seeks approval; and

(7) Forward the analytical results to the Department. The Department shall approve the use of the material only if the analytical results show that there is no significant degradation of the material, or cross-over of contamination.

iv. The use of polyvinylchloride, fiberglass, and acrylics shall only be for holding, acclimating, and rearing system components and for dilution water storage and delivery system components. Before use, the laboratory shall test every batch of these materials for toxicity to the pertinent test organisms. The laboratory shall retain the documentation of such tests;

v. The laboratory shall not use Tygon(R) for components used in an invertebrate testing, holding, acclimating or rearing system except for Mysids. If the laboratory uses bakelite components in an invertebrate testing, holding, acclimating or rearing system, and if that bakelite is heated to sterilization temperatures, the laboratory shall not allow any other system components to come in contact with either the bakelite or the fumes arising from the bakelite;

vi. The laboratory shall not use in toxicity testing any material that is not listed in Table 7.3, without first obtaining the Department's written approval. To obtain the Department's approval, the laboratory shall test the material's toxicity to the pertinent test organisms and submit documentation of the testing to the Department. The Department shall approve the material only if the documentation demonstrates that the material does not exhibit toxic or subtoxic effects (that is, decreased brood size in invertebrate test organisms) to the test organisms; and

vii. Except for materials labeled and sold as either, "medical grade" or "food grade," the laboratory shall clean all new materials before using them. The laboratory shall follow the following cleaning procedure:

(1) Wash the materials with a solution consisting of a detergent and hot tap water. Prepare the solution according to the detergent manufacturer's instructions. Be sure that the detergent is of a type that leaves no toxic residue;

(2) Rinse the materials well with hot tap water to remove all traces of detergent;

(3) If the material is all-glass laboratory ware or perfluorocarbon plastic material, and has a capacity less than or equal to four liters, then soak glassware in 10 percent hydrochloric acid (HCl) for at least one hour to remove heavy metal contamination. If the material is all-glass laboratory ware or perfluorocarbon plastic material, and has a capacity greater than four liters, then rinse it at least twice with 10 percent HCl. After soaking or rinsing with acid, rinse twice or more with laboratory pure water to remove all traces of acid; and

(4) If the material is perfluorocarbon plastic, rinse it twice with full strength acetone, then rinse it at least twice with laboratory pure water and air or oven dry it.

2. For flow through toxicity tests, the laboratory shall use a dilutor system for the accurate measuring, mixing, and delivery of sample and dilution water to the exposure chambers. Detailed descriptions of dilutor systems allowable are found in Standard Methods, 16th edition, and in EPA Acute Methods #027F-1993. The laboratory shall use a dilutor system that:

i. Provides an adequate supply of dilution water to maintain 24 hours of continuous operation. The system shall obtain the supply from a dilution water reservoir, or by direct continuous pumping from the source of the water;

ii. Is capable of metering the flow of dilution water and sample into a mixing chamber for the determination of concentrations. The system shall use a constant head box or metering pumps to meter the flow of dilution water and sample;

iii. Uses mixing chambers to ensure complete mixing of dilution water and sample before dispensing solutions into the exposure chambers;

iv. Uses separate delivery tubes to transmit the dilution water and sample from the flow splitters, after the mixing chambers, to each of the replicate exposure chambers;

v. Provides a flow rate through the exposure chambers that results in at least five 90 percent water volume changes every 24 hours, and that is sufficient to maintain dissolved oxygen in the exposure chambers in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.5(h);

vi. Provides a flow rate through the exposure chambers that does not vary by more than +/-10 percent among all exposure chambers or +/-five percent within any given exposure chamber throughout the duration of the test;

vii. Maintains the test concentration in each exposure chamber within +/-five percent of the starting concentration for the duration of the test;

viii. Should be designed to maintain a constant temperature in the exposure chambers within +/-two degrees Celsius of the specified test temperature;

ix. Is designed to curtail automatically the delivery of the sample to the mixing chambers if the supply of dilution water to the mixing chamber is interrupted;

x. Is designed to prevent the test organisms from entering the overflow outlets in the exposure chambers;

xi. Is capable of maintaining at least five separate effluent dilutions and a control containing dilution water with replicate exposure chambers; and

xii. Has had its exposure chamber flow rate, exposure chamber effluent concentration accuracy, and test solution temperatures checked and calibrated initially and at least once per day for the duration of the test, including the last day of the test. The laboratory shall keep records of these calibrations in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.7(i), and make them available to the Department during an inspection of the laboratory.

3. The laboratory shall use holding, acclimating and culturing chambers that:

i. Are constructed of non-toxic materials that satisfy the requirements of (a)1 above;

ii. Include devices for temperature control, or are located in a temperature-controlled room;

iii. Are constructed for ease of cleaning and the prevention of waste material build-up; and

iv. If used for vertebrate species, are shielded from outside disturbances. The laboratory may shield the chamber either by isolating it in a low-traffic area, or by shielding it individually. If the materials used to shield a chamber individually will contact the culture media, the laboratory shall use materials that satisfy the requirements of (a)1 above.

4. The laboratory shall use test chambers that:

i. Can accommodate the testing of fish species in containers with a test solution at least five centimeters (cm) deep;

ii. If fabricated from non-seamless stainless steel, have welded seams rather than soldered seams;

iii. If fabricated from lead-free glass, are made in one piece or made with the use of clear silicone adhesive, of the type approved by the manufacturer for use in aquaria, to bond the seams. The laboratory shall expose as little of the silicone adhesive to the test solution as possible. Extra beads of adhesive shall be placed only on the outside of containers; and

iv. Are designed to keep the surface areas as small as possible in relation to their volume, in order to limit sorption to the vessel walls. Containers to be used with flow-through tests shall be designed to keep the liquid surface area/volume ratio as small as possible in order to reduce loss of volatile substances.

5. A laboratory shall have and use a balance that:

i. Satisfies the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3(a)2;

ii. Has a range of at least 0 to 40 grams;

iii. Is readable within 0.1 grams;

iv. Provides reproducibility of at least +/-0.05 grams.

6. Laboratories performing acute toxicity testing shall have and use one or more pH meters that satisfy the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3(a)3.

7. Laboratories performing acute toxicity testing shall have and use one or more conductivity instruments that satisfy the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3(a)6.

8. Laboratories performing acute toxicity testing shall have and use one or more dissolved oxygen meters that satisfy the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.2(a)17.

9. Laboratories performing tests with Cladoceran, shall have the following equipment:

i. A light meter capable of measuring in Lux or footcandles in the range of at least 0 to 200 footcandles;

ii. Medicine droppers or pipettes with 1.0 to 3.0 mm bores;

iii. Borosilicate glass beakers with covers, or test chambers made of another approved material under (a)1 above; and

iv. All testing equipment to be constructed with materials as approved for invertebrates in (a)1 above.

10. A laboratory shall have a refrigerator that is capable of storing the required sample volumes and that satisfies the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3(a)7.

11. Laboratories performing zooplankton or macrocrustacean toxicity tests shall have and use a low-power magnification device, for working with invertebrate species.

12. A laboratory shall use only glassware, plasticware and metal utensils that satisfy the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:18-3.3(a)8. The laboratory shall use plasticware only if it is made of inert, nontoxic materials approved under (a)1 above. When manually establishing test solutions, the laboratory shall use Class "A" volumetric flasks or graduated cylinders, calibrated "to deliver."

13. Dilution water sample containers used by the laboratory for discrete samples shall meet the following requirements:

i. The laboratory shall use only wide-mouthed containers equipped either with stoppers, screw caps or an equivalent closure;

ii. The laboratory shall use only containers and cap liners constructed of materials approved under (a)1 above; and

iii. The laboratory shall clean each container after each use, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(c).

14. A laboratory performing discrete effluent sampling shall use containers meeting the following requirements:

i. The laboratory shall use either wide-mouthed glass containers, disposable unplasticized plastic containers, or disposable unplasticized plastic liners for containers that are leakproof and constructed of materials meeting the requirements of (a)1;

ii. The laboratory shall not reuse containers made of materials listed in (a)1ii above unless they have been cleaned in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:18-7.4(c);

iii. The laboratory shall discard after one use any containers made of materials specified in (a)1iii above, and not cleaned and reused unless the laboratory has demonstrated pursuant to (a)1iii above that the container can be decontaminated without significant degradation;

iv. Container closures shall be leakproof and constructed of materials meeting the requirements of (a)1 above; and

v. The laboratory shall store containers in a manner that prevents contamination.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:18-7.3

Administrative change.
See: 28 New Jersey Register 4098(a).
Amended by R.1997 d.192, effective 5/19/1997.
See: 28 New Jersey Register 4149(a), 29 New Jersey Register 2275(a).
Rewrote (a)1vii(1); and in (a)9, deleted reference to labs performing tests with Daphnia sp.