| Abstract: |
To support natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) in response to the Deep Water Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a large number of coastal sediment and tissue (i.e., oysters) samples have been collected to define baseline environmental conditions prior to being exposed to oil. For the foreseeable future, subsequent analysis of oiled sediments and oil-exposed oysters will be required as well. To support these efforts, NOAA will require additional analytical laboratories to support NRDA sample analyses in addition to the commercial laboratories that are currently listed as providing support to NRDA. To compare the data among these laboratories, inter-laboratory comparison studies have been initiated with the results from the second exercise, crude oil QA10OIL01 reported here. In this exercise, selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs, hopanes, and steranes were determined in the exercise material, which consisted of a crude oil, and in SRM 1582 Petroleum Crude Oil. The results from this second exercise are reported along with a summary of the analytical methods used. |
