If you have achieved a NEBOSH Diploma and want to continue your studies, a Masters Degree could offer the challenge you are looking for.

The University of Hull, in partnership with NEBOSH, now offers MSc and MRes Masters Degrees by distance-learning in Occupational Health, Safety, and Environmental Management subjects.

An innovative ‘Toolbox’, aimed to help farmers achieve a good balance between crop productivity, soil health and soil carbon storage, has been developed as a result of a major EU research project called SmartSOIL.

Every arable farmer knows that soil organic matter is at the heart of profitable crop production. It helps improve the workability of soils, store water and increase nutrient supply. As leading soil scientist Professor Pete Smith from Aberdeen University says “Good management of soil organic matter is essential for producing high quality crops at yields that deliver good economic returns”.

Researchers from the south coast of England have established a small network ofmonitoring instruments in Christchurch Harbour and associated rivers to study the effects of weather events on water quality, and to better understand the magnitude and spatial/temporal variation of macronutrient fluxes - nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and phosphorus (P).

The project, which is financed by a Natural Environmental Research Councilgrant, has involved the installation of three continuous monitoring stations; one in the harbour itself, a second in the river Avon and a third in the river Stour.

Quantitech, the Milton Keynes based environmental instrumentation specialist, has reported a surge in demand for its rentable emissions analysers. The company’s Dominic Duggan says: “This is undoubtedly for two reasons; first and foremost, the two main analysers are MCERTS approved and secondly, they are both transportable and simple to carry from one site to the next.”

Traditional methods for measuring airborne particulate matter measure particle mass per unit air volume, usually with an upper size limit of x microns (PMx etc.). However, from a human health perspective, the particles of most interest are those that penetrate deep into the lungs. For this reason, Air Monitors has launched the Naneos Partector nanoparticle detector in the UK.

Handheld PID used for nightly monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during on-site headspace testing of contaminated soil samples on railway contracts.

Award-winning geotechnical company, BAMRitchies Limited, is using an Ion Science (www.ionscience.com) handheld Tiger photoionisation detector (PID) for nightly monitoring of volatile organic compound (VOCs) concentrations during on-site headspace testing of contaminated soil samples on railway contracts.

A major new money saving and environmentally beneficial smart kitchen app is due to be launched on the 2015 World Environment Day, Friday 5th of June. The hotly anticipated EatBy App has been tipped to become the must have app of 2015 as it promises to save it's users up to £700 every year and help reduce food waste.

In a recent press release Quantitech Limited announced that the SICK 3006 is the only portable FID with MCERTS approval for using either hydrogen or hydrogen/helium fuel gas. This claim was challenged, but Sira Certification has confirmed that the 3006 passed the MCERTS performance requirements for both gas options.

So, why is that important? Quantitech Director Dominic Duggan explains: “The hydrogen/helium fuel gas mixture is at least three times the cost of hydrogen gas, so one might assume that all FIDs would run on hydrogen. However, some FID manufacturers are unable to achieve the MCERTS performance requirements whilst running on hydrogen and have to resort to the more expensive mixture.

Quantitech first launched the InfraCal 2, a portable oil in water analyser, in 2013 and the company’s Dr Andrew Hobson says: “There has been a heavy demand for this instrument in the oil sector because of the new functionality that now comes as standard.The InfraCal2 can now be operated from an internal battery and also provides lower detection limits.

However, the original InfraCal was not able to store multiple calibrations or to log readings, so the latest instrument can be more independent, making it better suited to remote operation. We are therefore hoping that it will also become popular in a wider range of other manufacturing and processing industries, including wastewater and fracking.”

Researchers at the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have conducted trials on the river Thames to evaluate a new remote phosphate monitoring technology (Cycle-P)as part of a high-frequency (hourly resolution) monitoring programme that is studying river nutrient concentrations and how they are affected by algal abundance. The monitoring system ran continuously over the summer of 2014,measuring total reactive phosphate levels in the river, day and night, seven days a week. These results have now been compared with manually collected samples that were analysed in a laboratory with the traditional Murphy and Riley spectrophotometric method on unfiltered samples, and Dr Mike Bowes, senior nutrient hydrochemist at CEH, says: “The Cycle-P is working really well; the system operated independently for long periods and produced results that tracked our lab samples closely.”

Most water quality parameters are relatively simple to measure with low-power accurate sensors. However, the measurement of phosphate necessitates colorimetric analysis and this presents a significant challenge in remote locations with difficult access or where mains power is not available. The Cycle PO4 from OTT Hydrometry (known as the Cycle-P) is therefore gathering considerable interest because it is battery powered and able to operate unattended in the field,running over 1,000 tests before a field service is necessary to change the reagents.

Quantitech (Milton Keynes) has announced the launch of theFROG-4000™, a rugged, portable instrument capable of analysing trace levels of individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air, soil and water. “With this technology, operators will be able to conduct fast on-site analysis in a range of environmental, health and safety applications,”says Quantitech’s Dr Andrew Hobson. “The ability to analyse VOCs quickly, on-site, is a major benefit; partly, because samples containing volatiles are notoriously difficult to transport, but also because many applications require instant data.

For example, land remediation companies need to know which soil is contaminated so that they can either store or treat it, and they need to know if treatment was successful. Theymay also need to test liquid effluent against a discharge permit.

Quantitech has experienced a surge in demand for the Gasmet portable FTIR emissions analyser, the DX4000. “We believe that this instrument is now the only portable FTIR with MCERTS certification, and this is driving demand for both instrument rental and sales,” says Dominic Duggan.

The Gasmet DX4000 portable FTIR gas analyser is typically used in stack emissions monitoring, comparison measurements, catalytic process control and other applications where multiple gas compounds need to be accurately monitored in a hot and humid sample gas. The corrosion resistant sample cell is heated to 180 °C, which ensures that the sample stays in the gaseous phase even with high concentrations of moisture or corrosive gases.

In response to UK customer demand SEAL Analytical has recently recruited new technical and sales support staff, and invested in new larger premises. The new Southampton facility includes a state-of-the-art method development laboratory, which will also be used for training and demonstrations, featuring advanced segmented flow analysers such as the AA3 and discrete analysers such as the AQ1, AQ2, and the new AQ400. The lab will also feature block digesters and automated sample/standards preparation equipment.

Ground breaking technology that can benefit the environment often struggles to get recognition and success simply because it is new and has no independent confirmation of its performance.

The EU’s Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) programme can provide a world recognised route for eco-innovators to get that independent recognition.

The technology behind the heat recovery system introduced in the UK by new company SHARC Energy Systems, presents a ‘massive opportunity to save energy that would otherwise simply go down the drain’, according to its CEO Russ Burton.

The company had its UK launch in Nottingham, which it has chosen as its European head office. The event, at The Old Chemistry Theatre, Nottingham Trent University, had Councillor Graham Chapman, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council, as special guest.

E R Technical Services is pleased announce its continued development into new business areas, investing in new technology and materials to assist its customers with significant new innovation.

Many of the company’s customers carry out work in the commercial sector of the drainage market and are able to call on E R Technical Services’ vast experience to assist with the planning development and execution of bespoke solutions to what are often very challenging projects.

A remote control boat equipped with a SonTek M9 Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP®) has been employed with HydroSurveyor software to create a 3-dimensional map of a damaged (and still submerged) flood barrier, following serious damage that took place during last December’s storms.

Data from the survey enabled the Environment Agency to act swiftly and effectively to repair the damage and thereby protect local industry and residents.

As Technical Director of environmental instrumentation specialist Quantitech, Jim Monaghan is acutely aware of the level and range of resources that are necessary to be able to deliver an effective instrumentation maintenance and calibration service.

“Most of the company’s service work is preventative maintenance,” he says. “We provide long-term service contracts that maximise instrument ‘up-time’ and in order to achieve this, it is necessary to invest heavily in staff, training, spares and consumables, as well as spare instruments and a hire fleet.”

Accurate pH measurements require reliable meters and electrodes. Therefore choosing the right measuring instrumentation for your application is key.

By improving your pH theory and application know-how you can find the correct equipment for your needs more easily as well as guarantee reliable, high quality results.

Quantitech has launched a new portable gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and the company’s Dr Andrew Hobson is offering to visit trial sites, provide demonstrations and conduct analyses without charge.

The TRIDION™-9 is the fastest portable GC-MS in the world, able to rapidly detect an enormous variety of chemical compounds in liquid, solid or gaseous samples. Dr Hobson says: “As part of the launch, we need to demonstrate the advantages of field analysis to as wide an audience as possible, so, for a limited period, we are offering to visit UK sites in order to test real samples.