The responsibilities of an environmental laboratory technician revolve around working to test materials for contaminants or pollutants. Depending on your employer, you may test samples in a laboratory environment or perform testing and sample collection in the field. However, many employers hire separate environmental laboratory technicians and field technicians, so your duties may only entail testing samples that other coworkers have collected. You may work for a government agency, a nonprofit environmental organization, or an environmental testing company. You usually report to an environmental scientist or engineer.