Environmental Analysis Laboratory (EAL)

End of year holiday closure

The staff at EAL would like to thank you for your support during 2021.

We will be closed from Friday 24 December, 2020. Our regular sample receipting will resume on Tuesday 4 January, 2022.

To enable reporting before the end of the year, please observe the December cut-off dates.

Most samples received after the above dates will be analysed ASAP. However, completed results may not be reported until the New Year.

Analytical services

The Environmental Analysis Laboratory (EAL) specialises in a range of quality analytical services:

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Price Lists

Sample Submission Form (PDF)

Operating since 1993, EAL is part of Southern Cross University (SCU), located at the Lismore campus. Along with partner laboratory the Analytical Research Laboratory (ARL), EAL sits within the Southern Cross Analytical Reasearch Services unit.

Strong partnerships with ARL - a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved commercial/research facility providing specialist capabilities in applied phytochemistry, crop quality and herbal medicine quality control - and SCU's Special Research Centres, along with EAL's flexibility and capacity to diversify, enables the laboratory to adopt new and innovative techniques as they are developed and tested, through ongoing research.

Management and staff have a strong commitment to quality assurance. EAL holds NATA accreditation for a wide range of tests. All analysis is backed by rigorous quality control procedures, with proven reproducibility through regular proficiency trials. EAL provides world-standard work in the shortest possible time frame, at commercially competitive prices. Full confidentiality and security are provided for all analytical work.

To submit samples to EAL, please refer to the Sample submission page for delivery address, Turn-around times and pricing information.

COVID-19 response

We are OPEN for business. We plan to provide continuing service by changing staffing arrangements and maintaining additional, stringent lab protocols:

We have reduced the number of staff in EAL at any one time and increased the floor space of the lab
This reduces the likelihood of transmission between lab staff and the number of staff directly impacted should any one fall ill
We also have contingency staff working in other buildings, ready to move samples for booking and preservation in the event of a government forced lab shut down
The lab is sterilised throughout the day to minimise the chance of viral transmission
Excellent laboratory hygiene practices have always been a priority, we have further upgraded these for the current times
Samples are now dropped off to an outside area and disinfected before further processing
There is a strict policy of isolation on presentation of any illness
While we are a support unit of a university, Southern Cross University is working hard to keep the campus open for critical sections, such as ours. All students are now studying offsite/online for the foreseeable future
Deliveries to EAL have not been impacted by closure of state borders as there are no restrictions on postal service
We are and will continue to adhere to all government health directives
We have had one covid related closure in 2021 with one staff member ill. The lab was closed for two days during which NSW Health undertook its investigation and the lab underwent deep clean. The measures we documented above prevented spread of the virus with a minimum number of staff directly affected.

We appreciate your support; please keep sending samples for analysis.

All specific actions related to significant changes in operations will be provided by SCU; we recommend you refer to this frequently for status updates.