An SRM for Measuring Arsenic in Shellfish

NIST has developed many environmentally relevant Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) over the years, including whale blubber, fish and mussel tissues, human blood, house dust, and a variety of sediments, with a broad range of individual organic and inorganic contaminants characterized to suit the needs of the environmental community.  However, a higher order reference material is needed for quality assurance of measurements conducted for arsenic species assessment in matrix-rich shellfish. 

Several agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, Washington Department of Health (WA DOH), and the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association (SARDFA) have requested the production of a geoduck clam reference material containing naturally representative levels of inorganic arsenic (iAs).  In compliance with the recent trade agreement between the US and the People’s Republic of China, individual states are now required to routinely monitor iAs contamination in geoduck clams as part of NOAA Fisheries’ Seafood Inspection Program.  SRM 2983 fulfills this requirement, providing quality assurance and validating measurement methods for assessing potential health risks associated with shellfish.  In addition to the mandated monitoring in geoduck clams, the SRM material may be used worldwide for environmental and foodstuff assessments.

A unit of SRM 2983 consists of one jar sealed inside an aluminized pouch.  The jar contains approximately 12 g of cryogenically homogenized frozen tissue material.

Learn More:  
Bryan Sallee CE, Bachman MJ, Christopher SJ, Ellisor DL, Ellisor MB, Hoguet JC, Huntington SL, Luvonga C, Moors AJ, Nadarajan D, Narukawa T, Ness JM, Pugh RS, Yen JH, Yu LL (2024) Certification of Standard Reference Material^® 2983 Inorganics in Geoduck Clam Tissue (Panopea generosa). (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD), NIST Special Publication (SP) 260-246. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-246