LABORATORY
The Town Branch Laboratory is the in-house lab for the Town Branch WWTP, West Hickman WWTP,
Bluegrass Station WWTP, and the Industrial Pretreatment program. The lab is located at:
301 Lisle Industrial Avenue
Lexington, Kentucky 40511
The Town Branch laboratory is one of the few laboratories, if not the only, in the state of
Kentucky doing filamentous organism identification. We get samples from around the state and
assist other labs in the protozoa identification process. We have performed general lab
analyses training for technicians of other laboratories. Our laboratory supervisor has taught
laboratory classes at the state level.
The Town Branch laboratory is constantly trying to keep up with the new changing field of
environmental laboratory analysis. Detection limits continue to get lower and procedures
are constantly being upgraded.
The first laboratory was build on this site around 1915. The laboratory has since gone through
three expansions over the years to its present size. We hope to expand again within the next
two years. With each expansion has come an increase in work load and staff.
In 1991, the laboratory at the West Hickman Treatment Plant was closed. Staff and equipment
were consolidated with Town Branch Laboratory. This consolidation resulted in a reduction of
operating cost and enabled us to do more work with present staffing.
The laboratory started with a part-time staff of one and has grown to its current level of
six full-time employees. The work load increased from one small wastewater treatment plant
to two large wastewater treatment plants, one small wastewater treatment plant and the
industrial pretreatment program.
For Laboratory inquiries contact: Robert Zeigenfuse at (859) 425-2415
Town Branch Laboratory performs a full range of wet chemistry analyses.
Laboratory Statistics
Samples Analyzed: On the average, 20,122 per year.
Samples From: Town Branch WWTP, West Hickman WWTP, Bluegrass Station WWTP, Industrial
Pretreatment, and samples brought in from other outside sources.
Analyses: On the average, 54,253 per year.
QC Samples Analyzed: On the average, 15% of all samples.
Analyses Conducted: Alkalinity, Hardness, Total Solids, Dissolved Solids, Total Suspended
Solids, Total Volatile Solids, Volatile Suspended Solids, Settleable Solids, Specific Gravity,
Sludge Digester Gas, Metals (Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Lead, Nickel,
Silver, Zinc), Cyanide, Chlorine, Chloride, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Oxygen, Phosphorus,
Ortho- Phosphorus, Sulfide, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Surfactants,
Volatile Acids.
Microbiological Analyses: (Total Coliforms, Fecal Coliforms, Fecal Streptococcus,
Filamentous Bacteria (counting and identification) Protozoa (counting and identification).
Instrumentation: pH Meters, Analytical Balances, Dry Ovens, Muffle Furnaces, Hot Plates,
Water Baths, Direct Current Plasma (DCP) Spectrometer, Amperometric Titrator, Ion-selective
Electrode Meter, Spectrophotometer, Dissolved Oxygen Meters, Heat Blocks, Incubators, Autoclave,
Microscopes.
Number of Staff: 6 (One Supervisor and Five Technicians)
Data System: Data are analyzed and maintained on personal computers. Reports are generated
and printed in the the Laboratory.
Our Staff
Robert M. Zeigenfuse - Laboratory Supervisor - 34 years
José Rincon - Laboratory Technician - Pretreatment Analysis
LaVada M. Green - Laboratory Technician - QC Manager - 14 years
Jerry W. McDaniel - Laboratory Technician
Di-Linh Cao-Nguyen - Laboratory Technician - Safety Manager
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