NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 98 National Status and Trends Program for Marine Environmental Quality National Status and Trends Program Specimen Bank: Sampling Protocols, Analytical Methods, Results, and Archive Samples Silver Spring, Maryland August 1996 US Department of Commerce noaa NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION Coastal Monitoring and Bioeffects Assessment Division Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment National Ocean Service Coastal Monitoring and Bioeffects Assessment Division Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce N/ORCA2, SSMC4 1305 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 Notice This report has been reviewed by the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and approved for publication. Such approval does not signify that the contents of this report necessarily represent the official position of NOAA or of the Government of the United States, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for their use. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 98 National Status and Trends Program Specimen Bank: Sampling Protocols, Analytical Methods, Results, and Archive Samples G. G. Lauenstein, A. Y. Cantillo, B. J. Koster, M. M. Schantz, S. F. Stone, R. Zeisler, and S. A. Wise Silver Spring, Maryland August 1996 United States National Oceanic and National Ocean Service Department of Commerce Atmospheric Administration Michael Kantor D. James Baker W. Stanley Wilson Secretary Under Secretary Assistant Administrator TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................. .i LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................iii LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1 2. NATIONAL STATUS AND TRENDS MONITORING PROJECTS............................................... 3 3. SAMPLE COLLECTION AND STORAGE PROTOCOLS FOR SPECIMEN BANKING ......................3 3.1 Sample Collection ................................................................................................3 3.2 Sample Archival ..................................................................................................4 3.3 Homogenization of Specimens ...............................................................................5 4. INVENTORY OF THE NS&T SPECIMEN BANK..................................................................... 5 4.1 Mussel Watch and National Benthic Surveillance Projects...................................... 5 4.2 Exxon Valdez Damage Assessment Specimens .......................................................6 4.3 EPA Mussel Watch Specimens............................................................................... 6 4.4 Specimen Access Policy....................................................................................... 28 5. ANALYTICAL RESULTS ..................................................................................................28 5.1. Analytical Approach ............................................................................................28 5.1.1. Inorganic Analysis ..........................................................................28 5.1.2. Organic Analysis ............................................................................31 5.2. Experimental Procedures .....................................................................................31 5.2.1. Inorganic Analyses .........................................................................31 5.2.1.1. Materials ........................................................................31 5.2.1.2 Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis ........................31 5.2.1.3. Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis .................................32 5.2.1.4. X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis ...........................................32 5.2.2. Organic Analysis ............................................................................32 5.2.2.1. Materials ........................................................................32 5.2.2.2. Sample Preparation for Organic Analysis .........................33 5.2.2.3. Chromatographic Analysis ...............................................33 5.2.3. Percent Water Determination ..........................................................34 5.3. Inorganic Analysis Results ...................................................................................34 5.4. Organic Analysis Results .....................................................................................35 6. COMPARISON................................................................................................................ 35 7. CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................................................38 8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................38 9. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................38 APPENDIX A. NATIONAL BIOMONITORING SPECIMEN BANK ................................................42 APPENDIX B. SPECIMEN BANK SAMPLING PROTOCOLS USED FOR THE NATIONAL BENTHIC SURVEILLANCE PROJECT ...............................................................44 APPENDIX C. SPECIMEN BANK SAMPLING PROTOCOLS FOR THE MUSSEL WATCH PROJECT ....................................................................................................51 APPENDIX D. SPECIMEN ACCESS POLICY ..........................................................................58 APPENDIX E. NS&T SPECIMEN BANK INVENTORY ..............................................................59 APPENDIX F. ANALYTICAL RESULTS ................................................................................78 LIST OF TABLES 1 Trace elements analyzed in the National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Project ..................................................................................................................29 2 Trace organic compounds analyzed in the National Status and Trends Program.......... 29 3 Comparison of trace element data of Mussel Watch Project tissue samples from two laboratories..................................................................................................... 36 4 Comparison of trace organic data of Mussel Watch Project tissue samples from two laboratories..................................................................................................... 37 Appendix E E.1 Specimen Bank Inventory for the Mussel Watch Project ...........................................60 E.2 Specimen Bank Inventory for the National Benthic Surveillance Project.................... 70 E.3 Specimen Bank inventory for Alaska samples from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Damage Assessment ...............................................................................................73 E.4 EPA Mussel Watch Program sample inventory in NS&T Specimen Bank .....................74 Appendix F F.1 Percent water in tissue and sediment samples for 20 sites from Mussel Watch Project .................................................................................................................79 F.2. Percent water in fish tissue and sediment samples for 12 sites from the National Benthic Surveillance Project...................................................................... 82 F.3 Concentrations of inorganic constituents in bivalve samples from the Mussel Watch Project ........................................................................................................84 F.4 Concentrations of inorganic constituents in sediment samples from the Mussel Watch Project ........................................................................................................96 F.5 Results of bivalve storage stability study ...............................................................106 F.6 Concentrations of inorganic constituents in fish tissue samples (muscle and liver) for 12 sites from the National Benthic Surveillance Project ...........................118 F.7 Concentrations of inorganic constituents in fish tissue, muscle, and liver and sediment for 12 sites from the National Benthic Surveillance Project .....................123 F.8 Concentrations of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides in bivalve samples from the Mussel Watch Project .............................................................................................133 F.9 Concentrations of PCB congeners and chlorinated pesticides in sediment samples for the Mussel Watch Project.................................................................................. 139 i F.10 Concentration of PCB congeners and chlorinated pesticides in fish muscle tissue from 12 sites for the National Benthic Surveillance Project ....................................145 F.11 Concentration of PCB congeners and chlorinated pesticides in fish liver tissue samples for 12 sites from the National Benthic Surveillance ....................................148