Marine Monitoring Quality Assurance Program

Since 1987, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has coordinated semiannual intercomparison exercises for laboratories determining selected organic contaminants in marine sediment and tissue samples. These exercises are part of a marine environmental analytical measurements quality assurance (QA) program.

In response to numerous requests, NIST has opened the intercomparison exercise portion of this QA program to any laboratory performing measurements of the organic contaminants determined in these exercises but whose participation is not funded by either NOAA or EPA. For 1996 the cost for participation in the "NIST Intercomparison Exercise Program for Organic Contaminants in the Marine Environment" will be $2500 or $2800 for a laboratory within or outside the U.S., respectively.

Other Sites of Interest:

• Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Status and Trends (NOAA NS&T);
• Standard Reference Materials Program

Table 1 lists the analytes currently being reported and evaluated in these exercises. Typical concentration ranges of these analytes in the exercise materials are shown in Table 2. Descriptions of the 1996 exercise materials are listed in Table 3. Materials from previous exercises, described in Table 3, are also available for $1000 each ($1150 outside U.S.) as listed on the attached form.

Each year, participating laboratories will be sent material for three analyses of two marine samples. Results submitted to NIST by October 1 will be included in a NIST report in which data are summarized and evaluated. This report will be sent to all participants and/or designated QA officers. Individual laboratory results will be identified by an assigned laboratory number which will be made known only to the individual laboratory and/or laboratory-designated QA officer. Participants will be invited to attend the annual QA workshop, typically held in December, at a site still to be determined, in which the results of these exercises are discussed.

Laboratories will be accepted into the program each year until the available materials are depleted.

If you would like to participate in the "NIST Intercomparison Exercise Program for Organic Contaminants in the Marine Environment", please complete the form and mail or FAX it to Donna Sirk at the listed address. If you need additional technical information, please contact Reenie Parris (301-975-3103; fax 301-977-0685; e-mail: reenie.parris@nist.gov; NIST, Chemistry B208, Gaithersburg, MD USA 20899).

Table 1. Analytes of Interest in NIST Intercomparison Exercise Program for Organic Contaminants in the Marine Environment

Table 2. Typical Concentration Ranges of Determined Compounds

Table 3. Descriptions of Currently Available Interlaboratory Comparison Materials

1996 Exercise Materials:

Marine Sediment VI QA96SED6

3 x 21.0 g (wet weight) of a wet marine sediment

(Each sample was prepared by adding a known mass of water to a known mass of marine sediment collected from several Eastcoast sites that had been combined, freeze-dried, sieved, blended, radiation-sterilized and homogenized. This material is stored at -80 C until shipped to participants on dry ice.)

Mussel Tissue VII QA96TIS7

3 x ~20 g (wet weight) of a frozen mussel tissue homogenate

(The tissue is a cryogenically homogenized "fresh" material still containing its endogenous water. This material is stored at -80 C until shipped to participants on dry ice.)

Materials Available From Previous Exercises:

Marine Sediment V QA95SED5

3 x 21.0 g (wet weight) of a wet marine sediment; Marine Sediment V has significantly higher PAH and PCBconcentrations relative to Marine Sediment IV and Marine Sediment III (SRM 1941a).

(Each sample was prepared by adding a known mass of water to a known mass of marine sediment collected from several New York/New Jersey sites that had been combined, freeze-dried, sieved, blended, radiation-sterilized and homogenized. This material is stored at -80 C until shipped to participants on dry ice.)

Fish Homogenate III QA95FSH3 - for PCB/pesticide measurements only

3 x 9 g (wet weight) of a stabilized slurry of ground whole carp from Lake Huron

(The fish homogenate, prepared by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), is ground whole carp to which a small amount of water was added to raise the moisture content to 85 percent and 0.02 percent of ethoxyquin was added as an antioxidant. The material in the sealed ampoules was heated for a very short time at 121 C to destroy the enzyme that promotes rancidity.)

Marine Sediment IV QA94SED4

3 x 21.0 g (wet weight) of a wet marine sediment

(Each sample was prepared by adding a known mass of water to a known mass of a marine sediment that had been freeze-dried, sieved, blended, radiation-sterilized and homogenized. This material is stored at -80 C until shipped to participants on dry ice.)

Mussel Tissue VI QA94TIS6

1 x 6 g (dry weight) of a freeze-dried mussel tissue

(This tissue, a subset of GESREM II Mussel Material, was collected at Raritan Bay, shucked and freeze-dried. At NIST, this material was milled, sieved, homogenized, radiation-sterilized and bottled.)

(Fish Homogenate I QA93FSH1 is now available from the National Research Council of Canada as CARP-1 Reference Material)

(Mussel Tissue V QA93TIS5 is now available from NIST as Standard Reference Material 1974a, Organics in Mussel Tissue)

(Marine Sediment III QA92SED3 is now available as a dry marine sediment from the NIST Standard Reference Materials Program as SRM 1941a, Organics in Marine Sediment)

Mussel Tissue IV QA92TIS4

3 x ~17 g (wet weight) of a frozen mussel tissue homogenate

(The tissue, collected in Boston Harbor, is a cryogenically homogenized "fresh" material still containing its endogenous water. This material is stored at -80 C until shipped to participants on dry ice.)

These materials have not been enriched or spiked.

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Date created: November 21, 2002
Last updated: April 15, 2003
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