ToolboxLab TestingMetals Test (CAM17)

Labeled water sample bottles packed for certified lab analysis

Lab Testing

Metals Test (CAM17)

Name: Metals Test (CAM17)
Brand: Lake Pulse
Price: 275.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Seventeen heavy metals — the panel for mining, industrial, urban, and legacy contamination.

$275

Checkout arrives with the store connection. Orders attach to the lake on your account.

Overview

This panel quantifies the seventeen metals on the CAM 17 list, the standard priority-metals suite used in environmental assessment: antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, vanadium, and zinc. Sixteen are analyzed by EPA 6010D; mercury runs by EPA 7470A. Results are reported individually in milligrams per liter (mg/L) with each metal's own detection and reporting limit.

Read the detection limits before you order. The reporting limits on this panel range from 0.0002 to 0.01 mg/L depending on the metal. Those limits are appropriate for identifying contamination. Several chronic freshwater aquatic-life criteria — for lead, cadmium, and silver in particular — sit at or below them, so a non-detect on this panel means no significant contamination, not zero, and not compliance with a chronic criterion.

Use it to:

Assess metal contamination downstream from industrial areas
Sample lakes or streams near mining activity
Investigate runoff from metalworking or waste sites
Track multiple metals after sediment disturbance

What's measured & how

17 parameters · Priority metals panel (CAM 17)

What's measured & how for Metals Test (CAM17)
Parameter	Result type	Unit	MDL	RL	Analytical method
Antimony	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00183	0.005	EPA 6010D
Arsenic	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0016	0.005	EPA 6010D
Barium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0043	0.005	EPA 6010D
Beryllium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00022	0.002	EPA 6010D
Cadmium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00078	0.01	EPA 6010D
Chromium (Total)	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00093	0.005	EPA 6010D
Cobalt	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00042	0.005	EPA 6010D
Copper	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0046	0.01	EPA 6010D
Lead	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0013	0.005	EPA 6010D
Mercury	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00016	0.0002	EPA 7470A
Molybdenum	Quantitative	mg/L	0.000861	0.005	EPA 6010D
Nickel	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00059	0.005	EPA 6010D

Antimony
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00183
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Arsenic
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0016
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Barium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0043
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Beryllium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00022
RL:
0.002
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Cadmium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00078
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Chromium (Total)
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00093
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Cobalt
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00042
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Copper
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0046
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Lead
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0013
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Mercury
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00016
RL:
0.0002
Analytical method:
EPA 7470A
Molybdenum
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.000861
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Nickel
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00059
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D

See the full list below.

MDL = method detection limit. RL = reporting limit. Provided by the performing laboratory.

You get

Signed laboratory report, filed in your lake's Documents & Reports
Each result loaded into your lake's Data Library (Plus, Lake Admin, PRO)

How it's produced

Test type: Priority metals panel (CAM 17)
Sample: One surface-water grab sample, collected by you with the kit
Return shipping: Prepaid 2-day return to the laboratory
Analyzed by: Independent accredited partner laboratory, with full chain of custody
Method basis: EPA-approved
Turnaround: 10 business days from lab receipt
Analytical method: EPA 6010D; EPA 7470A

Full analyte list

Full analyte list for Metals Test (CAM17)
Parameter	Result type	Unit	MDL	RL	Analytical method
Antimony	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00183	0.005	EPA 6010D
Arsenic	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0016	0.005	EPA 6010D
Barium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0043	0.005	EPA 6010D
Beryllium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00022	0.002	EPA 6010D
Cadmium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00078	0.01	EPA 6010D
Chromium (Total)	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00093	0.005	EPA 6010D
Cobalt	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00042	0.005	EPA 6010D
Copper	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0046	0.01	EPA 6010D
Lead	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0013	0.005	EPA 6010D
Mercury	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00016	0.0002	EPA 7470A
Molybdenum	Quantitative	mg/L	0.000861	0.005	EPA 6010D
Nickel	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00059	0.005	EPA 6010D
Selenium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0032	0.01	EPA 6010D
Silver	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0025	0.005	EPA 6010D
Thallium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0026	0.01	EPA 6010D
Vanadium	Quantitative	mg/L	0.00094	0.005	EPA 6010D
Zinc	Quantitative	mg/L	0.0062	0.01	EPA 6010D

Antimony
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00183
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Arsenic
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0016
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Barium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0043
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Beryllium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00022
RL:
0.002
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Cadmium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00078
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Chromium (Total)
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00093
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Cobalt
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00042
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Copper
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0046
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Lead
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0013
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Mercury
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00016
RL:
0.0002
Analytical method:
EPA 7470A
Molybdenum
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.000861
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Nickel
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00059
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Selenium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0032
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Silver
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0025
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Thallium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0026
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Vanadium
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.00094
RL:
0.005
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D
Zinc
Result type:
Quantitative
Unit:
mg/L
MDL:
0.0062
RL:
0.01
Analytical method:
EPA 6010D

Product category

Physical ProductShips to you
ConsumableLab testing

Availability
Kit ships in 2 business days
Shipping
Flat-rate to your front door. Shipping details
SKU
SL-SL-SW-E-S-YW1

Example result

1 of 17 detected

Copper detected; 16 below reporting limits. Not the same as meeting chronic criteria

Turnaround

Results are available within 10 business days of the lab receiving your sample.

What problem does this solve for our lake?

Metals do not behave like nutrients. They do not break down, they are not consumed, and they accumulate — in sediment and in tissue. A lake with a metals problem usually has had it for decades and will have it for decades more.
The seventeen fall into three groups, and the group tells you how to read a detection:
Acutely toxic and bioaccumulative — mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, thallium, selenium. These matter at low concentrations, they concentrate up the food chain, and they are the ones behind fish consumption advisories. Selenium in particular is famous for causing reproductive failure in fish and birds at concentrations that look unremarkable on a lab report.
Industrial and geological indicators — antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, vanadium, molybdenum, barium. These are less about direct toxicity and more about provenance. Their pattern points toward mining, metal finishing, coal ash, or a specific industrial history in the watershed.
Essential but toxic in excess — copper, zinc, silver. Aquatic organisms need trace copper and zinc; both are toxic to fish and invertebrates above narrow thresholds. Copper deserves particular attention on a managed lake, because copper sulfate algaecide is the single most common reason a recreational lake shows elevated copper. It does not leave. Every treatment adds to a sediment inventory that stays.
Two honest caveats about mercury. First, water-column mercury is nearly always low, including in lakes under active fish consumption advisories, because methylmercury is produced in anoxic sediment and concentrated through the food web rather than dissolved in open water. Second, and following from that: this test cannot tell you whether your fish are safe to eat. That question requires fish tissue analysis.

What's included?

A complete CAM 17 metals test kit shipped directly to you
All materials required for clean, contamination-free sample collection
Step-by-step collection and preservation instructions
Prepaid 2-day return shipping to our accredited partner laboratory
Analysis by EPA 6010D (mercury by EPA 7470A) at an accredited partner laboratory, with full chain of custody
Results loaded automatically into your lake's account

What's not included

Sample collection. You collect the sample; we supply everything you need to do it correctly.
Boat, dock, or shoreline access to your sampling site
Depth-profile sampling. This is a single grab sample unless you order multiple kits.
Ice or a cooler for shipping, which you supply
Treatment, remediation, or applicator services
A written management plan. The Boathouse can help you interpret results and decide next steps.
Sediment metals, which is where metals actually accumulate and where the historical record sits
Fish tissue mercury, which is the matrix that determines whether fish are safe to eat
Hexavalent chromium. This panel reports total chromium and does not speciate.
Hardness, which is required to calculate the hardness-dependent aquatic-life criteria for copper, lead, cadmium, nickel, and zinc. Add the Alkalinity & Hardness Test ($88) if you want to compare against those criteria.
Toxicity assessment. This reports concentrations, not whether those concentrations are harming your lake.

Requirements

IMPORTANT — read the detection limits before you order. Reporting limits run from 0.0002 to 0.01 mg/L depending on the metal, and several chronic aquatic-life criteria fall at or below that range. A non-detect indicates no significant contamination; it is not a demonstration of compliance with a chronic criterion. If you need low-level metals data for a regulatory or legal matter, contact the Boathouse before ordering.
A sample collected in the preserved container provided, which must not be rinsed
No metal contact with the sample. Remove jewelry, avoid galvanized or brass fittings, and do not let the sample touch a boat rail, a bucket, or a landing net.
A site chosen for the suspected source. Metals are not evenly distributed, and a mid-lake sample near a shoreline source will read clean.
Same-day shipment after collection, kept cold
A Plus, Lake Admin, or PRO subscription to have results loaded into your Lake Pulse account
Questions about site selection, timing, or which test fits your lake? Contact the Lake Pulse Boathouse before you order.

What you get back

Results

Seventeen metals quantified in mg/L, each with its own detection and reporting limit
A provenance pattern — which group dominates indicates whether you are looking at mining, industry, urban runoff, or in-lake treatment history
A defensible baseline for lakes near mines, industrial sites, coal ash storage, old orchards, or heavy urban stormwater
Results load automatically into your lake's Data Library in the Lake Pulse Portal
Data can be charted in the Analytics Hub, used to trigger alerts, or shared with your board and members
A downloadable, signed lab report is filed in your lake's Documents & Reports for permanent reference
Results are found in your lake's portal, accessible only to Plus, Lake Admin, and PRO subscription tiers

Pro tips

Run this when there is a reason, not on a schedule. A watershed with a mine, a foundry, a coal ash pond, a former orchard, a landfill, or heavy urban stormwater justifies it. A forested watershed with cabins almost certainly does not.
Check your own treatment history first. If your lake has been treated with copper sulfate, elevated copper is expected and the useful question is how much has accumulated in the sediment, not whether it is present in the water.
Sample near the source, and sample the sediment if you are serious. Metals leave the water column and stay in the bottom. Water tells you about right now; sediment holds the record.
Order hardness alongside it if you intend to compare against criteria. Five of the seventeen have criteria that cannot be calculated without it.
Do not read a mercury non-detect as a fish safety result. Those are different matrices and they routinely disagree. If fish consumption is the concern, say so to the Boathouse and get routed to tissue analysis.
A clean panel is worth having. Seventeen metals below reporting limits is a strong answer to a recurring shoreline rumor, provided you state the limits alongside it.

Results sync to the Portal for Plus, Lake Admin, and PRO subscribers

Results from this product land in your lake's shared record in the Portal — next to everything else your lake has ever measured, instead of in an inbox.

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About these results

Every result shows the date and time the sample was collected. Results reflect one sample, collected at a specific place and depth, and analyzed by an independent accredited laboratory using the method listed on this page. Lake conditions change across a lake and over time, sometimes within hours, in ways a single sample may not capture. Every method has detection and reporting limits; where the laboratory provides them, they are reported with your results. A detection is not a diagnosis, and a non-detection does not prove absence. Results are not a regulatory or compliance determination unless the agency involved accepts them as one. Results can help you make decisions about safe swimming and water use, but no result is definitive for every place and time. It is always good practice to check posted signs and your state or local health authorities. Recommendations are options to consider; decisions, and responsibility for any action taken, rest with you.

Questions on this?

Our team can help you choose the right solution for your lake, explain how results sync to your Portal, or point you to the right subscription.

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