Most of our work is protected by client confidentiality, so it isn’t listed here. The projects below are public work, or work we can describe without naming the client.
A sample of projects our team has worked on, at Vanguard and before.
Drinking water lead testing, Olympia School District
Facility: Olympia School District, Olympia, WA
Date: 2023 to present
Analyses: Lead by EPA 200.8; total coliform, E. coli and nitrate
Scope: Lead testing of drinking fountains, kitchen taps and classroom taps across the district’s schools, with results reported by school and tap.
Drinking water lead and copper testing, Rochester School District
Facility: Rochester School District, Rochester, WA
Date: 2026
Analyses: Lead and copper
Scope: Vanguard managed the project, including sample coordination, chain of custody and reporting to the district for classroom and kitchen taps.
Water quality E. coli testing, Thurston County
Facility: Thurston County Public Health and Social Services, Environmental Health Division
Date: 2026
Analyses: E. coli by SM 9223B
Scope: E. coli counts in surface water samples for the county’s water quality monitoring program.
Stormwater and drinking water testing, Squaxin Island Tribe
Facility: Squaxin Island Tribe, Shelton, WA
Date: 2022 to present
Analyses: Bacteria, nutrients, hydrocarbons and metals in stormwater; drinking water compliance testing
Scope: Ongoing stormwater monitoring for the Tribe’s water resources program, and drinking water testing.
Surface water bacteria testing, Skokomish Tribe
Facility: Skokomish Tribe, Mason County, WA
Date: 2026
Analyses: Total coliform and E. coli by SM 9223B
Scope: Bacteria testing of creek and river stormwater samples.
Hatchery water testing, Nisqually Indian Tribe
Facility: Nisqually Indian Tribe hatchery program
Date: 2026
Analyses: Total suspended solids
Scope: Vanguard managed the project, including sample coordination, chain of custody and reporting for hatchery intake, vault and raceway water.
Dairy stormwater bacteria testing, Washington State Department of Agriculture
Facility: WSDA Dairy Nutrient Management Program
Date: 2022 to 2023
Analyses: Total coliform and E. coli by SM 9223B
Scope: Bacteria testing of stormwater samples.
Building water testing, Washington State Department of Ecology
Facility: Department of Ecology headquarters building, Lacey, WA
Date: 2024
Analyses: Lead and copper by EPA 200.8; total coliform and E. coli by SM 9223B
Scope: On-site sampling of sinks, showers and drinking fountains across the building to meet federal leased-building water testing requirements.
Drinking water testing, Washington State Parks
Facility: Tolmie and Millersylvania state parks, Thurston County, WA
Date: 2026
Analyses: Total coliform and E. coli by SM 9223B
Scope: Bacteria testing of park drinking water systems.
Metals in bottled drinks and their plastic bottles, Defend Our Health
Facility: Defend Our Health, a public health nonprofit
Date: 2022
Analyses: Antimony, aluminum and other metals by ICP-MS; pH
Scope: Metals testing of 20 popular bottled drinks and the PET bottles they came in, with a modified digestion for juices and high-sugar drinks.
Outcome: Results were published in the group’s July 2022 report on PET plastic, which credits Vanguard Laboratory for the product testing.
Multi-discipline testing laboratory build, Olympia, WA
Facility: New commercial laboratory, about 20,000 square feet
Scope: Layout and workflow for chemistry, microbiology, metals and LC-MS areas, instrument selection and validation, and a quality management system written from the ground up.
Outcome: Lab in service for food, beverage, drinking water, supplement, pharmaceutical and peptide testing.
Peptide testing program
Facility: Peptide compounders and research suppliers
Scope: Purity, identity, endotoxin and sterility testing set up as one program, with reports clients can look up online.
Cold-sterilant process change, carbonated energy drink line
Facility: Beverage brand, four products
Scope: Replaced tunnel pasteurization with a dimethyl dicarbonate (Velcorin) process and issued new process authority letters.
Outcome: The client could raise carbonation without the heat step.
Challenge study and process letter, preserved cold-filled beverage
Facility: Beverage brand
Scope: Inoculated E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria and followed die-off over several days.
Outcome: Results used to set a maximum pH and a release hold in the process letter.
Hot-fill-and-hold process filings, acidified beverages and pickled products
Facility: Small food and beverage producers
Scope: Process letters and responses to FDA questions on their filings.
Outcome: pH limits and process entries corrected in the filings.
Pasteurization unit processes, shelf-stable canned beverages
Facility: Canned beverage producers
Scope: Set minimum PU targets and reviewed can deformation at higher pasteurization temperatures.
Drinking water compliance testing, U.S. Navy installations
Facility: Multimillion-dollar Department of Defense contract
Scope: Method validation, sample preparation and reporting to Department of Defense requirements.
Drinking water testing after a fuel release, Hawaii
Facility: Navy drinking water system
Date: 2021 to 2022
Analyses: Semivolatiles and PAHs
Scope: Managed the semivolatile and PAH testing department that took over this testing for the Navy’s response contractor.
Outcome: Results fed the long-term monitoring that agencies used to confirm the water was safe.
National retail surveys for Salmonella in spices and tree nuts
Facility: Federal food surveillance program
Date: 2014 to 2015
Analyses: Salmonella
Scope: Contract lab testing, sample tracking and data packages for retail spice and tree nut samples collected across the country.
Outcome: The data supported published federal surveys of Salmonella in retail spices and tree nuts.
Salmonella serotyping for federal food programs
Facility: USDA school lunch beef purchases and FDA surveillance samples
Date: 2012 to 2015
Analyses: Salmonella serotyping
Scope: Serotyping of Salmonella isolates from boneless beef bought for the National School Lunch Program, and from FDA surveillance samples.
Bulk fuel plant cleanup, Olympia
Facility: Fuel plant, Olympia, WA
Date: 2016
Analyses: Diesel and heavy oil range hydrocarbons
Scope: Analysis of soil and water samples during an interim remedial action.
Outcome: Data went into the remedial action report filed with the state.
Process authority review, food bank freeze-dried meals
Facility: Food bank community kitchen
Date: 2023
Analyses: Process review and water activity
Scope: Review of a freeze-dried meals program for clients without stable housing, including the hazard analysis, HACCP plan and water activity controls.
Outcome: Process authority letter issued for the program.
Environmental water testing, Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA)
Facility: Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a conservation nonprofit
Date: 2022
Analyses: Acetaminophen, sucralose and diquat
Scope: Testing of environmental water samples for a pain reliever, an artificial sweetener and a herbicide.
Water quality testing, Ecostudies Institute
Facility: Ecostudies Institute, a conservation research nonprofit
Date: 2023 to 2024
Analyses: Fecal indicator bacteria, dissolved oxygen and total phosphorus
Scope: Water quality testing of field samples for the group’s conservation research.
Insecticide resistance monitoring for poultry farms
Facility: Poultry production sites in the Southeast
Date: 2022 to present
Analyses: Darkling beetle insecticide resistance bioassays
Scope: Testing field-collected beetles against the insecticides each farm uses, with daily checks over 7 or 14 days and a resistance call for each product.
Environmental site investigations, Western Washington
Facility: Fuel stations, utility substations, a port and military sites
Scope: Mobile and fixed-base laboratory testing for gasoline, diesel, BTEX, VOCs, PCBs, PAHs and metals during cleanups.
Trace metals and low-level mercury program
Facility: Environmental testing laboratory
Scope: ICP-MS/MS and CVAFS analysis, with the department’s SOPs, analyst training, data review and method development.
In-house QC laboratory, dietary supplement manufacturer
Facility: Supplement manufacturer
Scope: Raw material and finished product testing moved in house, with methods, SOPs and analyst training.
Outcome: Outside lab spending cut by about $100,000 a year.
Food and pharmaceutical contract testing laboratory
Facility: Contract testing lab serving food and pharmaceutical clients
Scope: GC, HPLC, LC-MS/MS and microbiological methods developed and validated, plus client support through audits and recalls.
Analytical testing, over-the-counter drug and personal care products
Facility: OTC drug and personal care manufacturer
Scope: Analytical chemistry for OTC drug and personal care products.
Published research
Research published by Vanguard scientists and alumni:
Have a project like one of these? See our consulting services or email [email protected].
