Chemistry Laboratories

Three low-level trace metal, hepa-filtered modular chemistry laboratories

The chemistry laboratories of the PCIGR are now located on the 3rd floor of the EOS Main building, just below the roof (see floor plan below the photos on this webpage). The three labs are completely independent in terms of air supply. They are accessed by a vestibule. The entire air-handling system is hepa-filtered (total of 42 hepafilters), with two systems of pre-filters. The labs were designed to achieve Class 1000 – all the measurements are close to Class 100. Each lab is equipped with two or three Class 100 laminar flow hoods. In each lab, one hood is an exhaust hood and the tracer lab is also equipped with a perchloric hood.

The three clean labs are divided according to the specific needs and the level of the required chemical processing: the tracer lab is devoted to routine Sr-Nd-Hf separation for isotopic studies, together with separation for heavy stable isotope studies; the U-Pb lab is only used for U-Pb zircon (+baddeleyite/monazite/titanite) chemistry and the low level tracer lab is devoted to very delicate chemical techniques (ppm to ppb level). Access to the labs is strictly limited to the users and requires complete gowning (see pictures). Sample preparation, dishwashing, and bomb dissolution are carried out in the prep room, before taking only the cleanest necessary items into the chem labs. Two systems of high-capacity Elix/MilliQ water filtration are installed to provide ultra-clean water and all of the acids are either quartz-distilled or sub-boiled according to the needs. Our blank levels are accordingly excellent, in the 10-100 pg range for all the elements that we are dealing with. We carry out a bi-weekly monitoring of the cleanliness of all the reagents and the air quality of the labs.

Photographs (Click on image for a larger view with description)

The floor plan of the new Chemistry labs at EOS Main:
(Click on image for a larger view with description)

R.L. Armstrong Radiogenic Isotope Laboratory (before the move)

This newly clean laboratory was constructed in the Chemistry building in late 2001. It was dedicated to Richard L. Armstrong, who was one of the pioneers in isotopic geochemistry at the University of British Columbia. It comprised two parts, one devoted to U-Pb geochronology and one to isotopic tracer work. It was equipped with all-polypropylene laminar flow and fume hoods, clean air sample weighing stations, a high-capacity Elix/MilliQ water filtration system to provide ultra-clean water for sample processing, and several sub-boiling distillation units operating in either continuous or batch mode to produce ultra-clean acids for sample processing. Because of the seismic upgrade requirements in the Chemistry building and the relocation of the PCGIR labs and instruments, this lab had to be abandoned in late 2004.