Smithers, the environmental testing lab near the John W. Decas School on Station Street, is making a bid to add cannabis testing to its line-up of testing services.

During a community outreach hearing held virtually on Tuesday afternoon, Smithers officials said that the testing would be very similar to the work the company already does on chemicals and products, and that the volume of product being tested on-site would be extremely low.

In fact, no one would even know from the outside that cannabis testing was taking place.

Cannabis testing is required by the Cannabis Control Commission on each batch of product manufactured in Massachusetts — including flower, edibles, concentrates, or vaporizer fluid. Each sample would have a volume of roughly less than a teaspoon, most of which would be destroyed during the testing process as Smithers employees measured the potency, ensured no pesticides were on the product, and measured the amount of heavy metals, bacterial and fungal contamination, and looked for the presence of chemicals used in the manufacturing process.

The testing process is largely the same as that for food crops.

Because the customers for the testing business would be cannabis growers and manufacturers, there would be no “walk-in” clients. All samples would be delivered by people in vehicles licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission, and samples would be stored in a locked cage in a locked room, accessible only by key card to some staff members. All employees working with cannabis must pass a background check.

Smithers representatives said that cannabis testing would allow the company to make seven new hires over the next five years.

Because the lab is within 500 feet of the Decas School, voters would need to approve a zero-foot setback from schools for the facility. By default, cannabis facilities are not allowed within 500 feet of schools.

Officials said that since the school is slated to be closed in January 2022, and because it would take some time to get the cannabis testing up and running, the lab would only be testing cannabis for about five months while the school was still open.