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Total recoverable hydrocarbons

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The National Environment Protection Measures (NEPM) are a nationally consistent approach to assessing site contamination.

The National Environmental Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Amendment Measure 2013 (No 1) clarifies definitions, extraction methods and reporting fractions for hydrocarbon analyses of samples from contaminated sites.

NEPM defines how the concentration of each fraction is determined, for example:

  • fraction 1 includes all the hydrocarbons eluting (elution is closely correlated to boiling point) between n-hexane (C6) and n-decane (C10) with the sum of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) compounds subtracted
  • fraction 2 is calculated as the difference between the >C10–C16 fraction and naphthalene; the concentration of naphthalene is derived from the volatile total recoverable hydrocarbons (TRH) analysis (purge and trap GC-MS)

Our services

The National Measurement Institute can help you meet your reporting requirements against the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measures.

TRH–silica test

Request the NEPM TRH–silica test when you suspect samples contain significant levels of non-petroleum based interferences (i.e. trade waste, soils with high organic content). The report from this test includes the semi-volatile fractions from >C10–C40.

Why choose us

We are Australia’s peak measurement body and offer:

  • a personalised service
  • competitive pricing
  • full analytical reports tailored to meet your requirements

Limits of reporting

These are the minimum concentration that we can be reliably detected in our laboratories.

TRH NMI method Limit of reporting for soil (mg/kg) Limit of reporting for water (µg/L)
TRH C6–C10 NGCMS_1121 <25 <25
TRH C6–C10 less BTEX (F1) NGCMS_1121 <25 <25
TRH >C10–C16 NGCMS_1112 <50 <25
TRH >C10–C16 less Naph (F2) NGCMS_1112 <50 <25
TRH >C16–C34 (F3) NGCMS_1112 <100 <100
TRH >C34–C40 (F4) NGCMS_1112 <100 <100

Turnaround times

Our standard turnaround time is 5-30 days.

We also offer 1, 2 and 3 working day turnaround times where agreed.

Submitting samples 

Find out how to submit your environmental testing samples. 

Request a quote or discuss your requirements 

Contact us for a quote or to discuss how we can tailor our services to meet your analysis requirements.

Read more

See our full range of specialist environmental testing and analysis services

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Last updated: 25 November 2021

Content ID: 64594