National Status and Trends, Benthic Surveillance Project Chemistry Data, 1984-1992, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

The National Status and Trends (NSandT) Benthic Surveillance Project Chemistry data file reports the trace concentrations of a suite of chemical contaminants in marine sediment and benthic fish tissue samples collected from all U.S. coastal regions from 1984 to 1992. The sediment and tissue samples were analyzed for major and trace elements and a suite of organic chemical constituents, including butyltins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and pesticides. The Benthic Surveillance Project Tissue Chemistry file is constructed as a vertically formatted table.

In response to concerns over environmental quality of the Nation's coastal and estuarine ecosystems, NOAA created the National Status and Trends (NSandT) Program in 1984. From 1984 through 1993, the Benthic Surveillance Project monitored chemical concentrations in the livers (and for metabolites of PAH's in the bile) of bottom-dwelling fish and in sediments at the sites of fish capture. The Benthic Surveillance Project also measured the biological effects of contaminant exposure, primarily as prevalence's of toxicopathic liver diseases.

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NOAA requests that all individuals who download NSandT data acknowledge the source of these data in any reports, papers, or presentations. If you publish these data, please include a statement similar to: "Some or all of the data described in this article were produced by NOAA through its National Status and Trends Program".

The quality of the analytical data generated by the NSandT Program is overseen by the QA Project component, which has been in operation since 1985 and is designed to document sampling and analytical procedures, and to reduce intralaboratory and interlaboratory variation. The QA Project documentation will facilitate comparisons among different monitoring programs with similar QA activities and thus extended the temporal and spatial scale of such programs. To document laboratory expertise, the QA Project required all NSandT laboratories to participate in a series of intercomparison exercises utilizing a variety of materials. The organic analytical intercomparison exercises were coordinated by the NIST, and the inorganic exercises by National Research Council (NRC) of Canada. Details of quality assurance for the Benthic Surveillance Program can be found in Lauenstein, et. al. 1993.

The same kind of field/site data have been supplied since the start of the Benthic Surveillance Project, in 1984. Original site coordinates were derived from Loran-C time conversions. Early sites information resulting from Loran-C was converted from time delay information to latitudes and longitudes. These earlier data may be suspect when sites were located close to large structures that could have interfered with accurate time delays. When GPS was first available the signal was intentionally degraded so earlier coordinate information, even if it resulted from GPS, is not as accurate as data would be today.Because fish are not sessile, fish trawls have been made along different tracks in the water body of interest. The latitude/ longitude coordinates provided in this file represent a nominal site center and trawling occurs within a 1 km radius of this location. When possible sediment samples were collected within 500 m of the fish sampling location.

Once sampling in a certain geographic area is initiated, repeat sampling occurs during the same time frame. Northeast samples (Chesapeake Bay through Maine) have been collected during March and April. Southeast samples have been collected from August to October. Gulf Coast samples have been collected from August to October. West Coast samples have been collected from May through July. Alaska samples have been collected from May to August. The collection of fish is not directly tied to their spawning cycle, though different age classes may be found in certain estuaries during different times of the year. Sediments were collected concurrently with fish specimens at each Benthic Surveillance Project site. Care was taken to minimize the disturbance to the sediment grabs. Grabs that were incomplete, slumped, less than 7 cm in depth, or comprised chiefly of shelly substrates were discards. The chance of sampling the same location was minimized by repositioning the boat (five meters downstream) after three sampling attempts. Analytical protocols for the quantification of the NSandT organic contaminants were developed by MacLeod et al. (1984) at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) facilities in Seattle, WA. These methods were prescribed for all NMFS laboratories participating in the Benthic Surveillance Project (BSP) when the NSandT Program began in 1984. Three NMFS laboratories used these methods in 1984: Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), Gloucester, MA; Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), Charleston, SC; and NWFSC, Seattle, WA. The philosophy associated with the development of exacting protocols for the quantification of organic contaminants was that the same analytical methods would increase the likelihood of data being comparable among laboratories. Even though interlaboratory comparisons were initiated at the start of the NSandT Program, it was felt that a method-driven QA and analytical effort for the quantification of organic contaminants was the best way to begin. In 1985, MacLeod et al., 1985, updated the protocols. This method was further has been further edited and can be found in Volume 1 of Technical Memorandum 71. The NSandT Mussel Watch Project (MWP) began in 1986. At that time, both the MWP and BSP laboratories were allowed to use any analytical method if it could be proven that the proposed alternate procedure was equal to or better than earlier MacLeod et al. (1984, 1985) methods. Mandatory protocols were never prescribed for the laboratories quantifying major and trace elements in either the BSP or MWP. The quantification of elements by the NSandT Program laboratories was perceived to be of a high enough quality that analytical control could be maintained by the use of standard reference materials during the analytical cycle and through interlaboratory comparisons exercises.

The sampling gear does not require any calibration, although it was inspected regularly for damage by mishandling or impact on rocky substrates. All sampling equipment was washed with water, and rinsed with alcohol and a final rinse with distilled water. Other solvents were used to rinse equipment earlier in the project.Because most fish were dissected onboard ship, a special effort was made to develop an environment as close to clean-room conditions as possible. All fish were dissected in positive pressure laminar flow hoods. Air was drawn into the laminar flow hood from above and filtered by a high efficiency particle attenuator (HEPA) filter before it passed over the fish samples. Stainless steel tools were used to dissect fish for organic analysis. Titanium tools were used to dissect fish for trace metal analyses because tools made of this element do not pose the problem of introducing nickel, chromium, and/or iron into the specimens to be analyzed. The NSandT Program analyzed specimens for the latter three elements. After knives had been sharpened, and thoroughly cleaned with detergent solution, rinsed extensively with tap water, rinsed in distilled or high-purity water (i.e., milli-Q or HPLC-grade water), rinsed with isopropranol under a fume hood, followed by a rinse with distilled water, and placed on a similarly cleaned Teflon cutting board that was allowed to air-dry in the laminar-flow hood. Between individual fish of the same species at the same site, the tools were rinsed with distilled water before any fluid or tissue had a chance to dry on the knife. Three sets of sampling tools were used to remove fish tissues for analysis. One set was used to cut through the body wall or make the initial cuts through the epidermis for fish muscle dissection. A second set was used to collect the liver and other internal tissues that were analyzed for organic contaminants. The third set, consisting of a Teflon knife and polyamide forceps, was used for collecting liver tissue for trace element analyses. The second set of cutting instruments avoids chemistry samples from being contaminated with dirt and mucus from the surface to the fish, while the third set of tools avoids introducing trace element contamination.