Abstract
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Marine Analytical Quality Assurance Program (NMAQAP) is dedicated to improving the quality of analytical measurements of trace elements, organic contaminants and emerging compounds of concern in marine and environmental systems, through various quality assurance mechanisms, including analytical method development and value assignment, quality assurance materials production, cryogenic marine specimen archival and the coordination of interlaboratory comparison exercises. This report focusses on the description and results of the 2005 Interlaboratory Comparison Exercise for Trace Elements in Marine Mammals. This program is co-sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, specifically, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. Two quality control materials derived from fresh-frozen marine mammal livers were produced and characterised at the NIST and were then distributed to over 30 laboratories. A maximum likelihood solution model was used to assign consensus data that served as a benchmark for comparison, and a series of group metrics were generated to assist the laboratories with the interpretation of performance and analytical assessment.
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Acknowledgements
The following individuals are gratefully acknowledged for their contributions to the Interlaboratory Comparison Exercise. Wayne McFee [(NOAA) National Ocean Service Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC] collected and donated the pygmy sperm whale liver to the NIST through the vehicle of the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank. Personnel from NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources assisted with the field sampling effort. This material was subsequently processed into the QC03LH3 quality control material. The white-sided dolphin liver that was processed into QC04LH4 was donated through a similar mechanism by personnel at the New England Aquarium, including Frederick Wenzel. Alan Heckert and Stefan Leigh (NIST Statistical Engineering Division) are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance with the NIST Dataplot software used to establish consensus mean data and plots. David Duewer (NIST Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory) is appreciatively acknowledged for providing scientific guidance on the determination of outliers and the application of weighted and robust statistics procedures to interlaboratory data. Finally, the contributing laboratories are acknowledged for their interest and participation in this interlaboratory comparison exercise program.
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Certain commercial equipment, software or instruments are identified in this paper to specify adequately the experimental procedures. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), nor does it imply that the referenced items are the best available for the purpose.
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Presented at “BERM-10”, April 2006, Charleston, SC, USA.
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Christopher, S.J., Pugh, R.S., Ellisor, M.B. et al. Description and results of the NIST/NOAA 2005 Interlaboratory Comparison Exercise for Trace Elements in Marine Mammals. Accred Qual Assur 12, 175–187 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-006-0245-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-006-0245-2