Environmental Chemical Science

For the past 40 years NIST has developed SRMs for the determination of inorganic and organic contaminants in environmental matrices such as sediments/soils, marine and animal tissues, air particulate, and botanical materials. These natural environmental-matrix SRMs for contaminants are used worldwide as the basis for validating accuracy and comparability within the environmental measurement community. For inorganic analysis, the natural matrix SRMs typically have concentration values assigned for toxic metals and other elements of interest. Typical organic contaminants with values assigned in these natural matrix SRMs include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and persistent chlorinated pesticides.

 

PROJECT AREAS

• Certification of Three Soil SRMs for Inorganic Environmental Measurements

• Development of SRM 2669 for Accurate Assessment of Arsenic Exposure

• Establishing Measurement Traceability for Gaseous Mercury Emissions Monitoring

• Interlaboratory Comparison Exercises for Organic Contaminants and Trace Elements in Marine Sediments and Tissues

• Standard Reference Materials for Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil

• Support of Industry Compliance with the EU Directive on Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

 

Associated PUBLICATIONS:

1. Kucklick, J., Boggs, A., Huncik, K., Moors, A., Davis, E., Ylitalo, G., McConnell, M., Makris, C., and Wells, R. S., "Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Sarasota Bay Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)," Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022).

   2.   Long, D. A., Adkins, E. M., Mendonca, J., Roche, S., and Hodges, J. T., "The effects of advanced spectral line shapes on atmospheric carbon dioxide retrievals," Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, 291, (2022).

   3.   Wise, S. A., "From urban dust and marine sediment to Ginkgo biloba and human serum-a top ten list of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs)," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 414, 31-52 (2022).

   4.   Mann, J. L., Molloy, J. L., Buscaglia, J., Pfeuffer, K. P., Fallon, B. L., and Tyra, M. A., "Assessing the microscale heterogeneity in Standard Reference Material 4600 Surrogate Post-detonation Urban Debris," Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 172, (2021).

   5.   Bailey, D. M., Zhao, G., and Fleisher, A. J., "Precision Spectroscopy of Nitrous Oxide Isotopocules with a Cross-Dispersed Spectrometer and a Mid-Infrared Frequency Comb," Analytical Chemistry, 92, 13759-13766 (2020).

   6.   Long, D. A., Reed, Z. D., Fleisher, A. J., Mendonca, J., Roche, S., and Hodges, J. T., "High-Accuracy Near-Infrared Carbon Dioxide Intensity Measurements to Support Remote Sensing," Geophysical Research Letters, 47, (2020).

   7.   Duewer, D. L., Murray, J. A., Wood, L. J., Wise, S. A., Sander, L. C., Lippa, K., Hein, S., Koch, M., Philipp, R., Werneburg, M., Hackenberg, R., Polzer, J., Avila, M. A., Serrano, V., Kakoulides, E., Alexopoulos, C., Giannikopoulou, P., Gui, E. M., Lu, T., Teo, T. L., Hua, T., Chen, D. Z., Li, C. X., Ye, C. J., Li, H. M., Nammoonnoy, J., Quinn, L., Swiegelaar, C., Fernandes-Whaley, M., Goren, A. C., and Gokcen, T., "CCQM-K95.1 Low-polarity analytes in a botanical matrix: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tea," Metrologia, 56, (2019).

   8.   Nguyen, H. G. T., Horn, J. C., Bleakney, M., Siderius, D. W., and Espinal, L., "Understanding Material Characteristics through Signature Traits from Helium Pycnometry," Langmuir, 35, 2115-2122 (2019).

   9.   Wise, S. A. and Phillips, M. M., "Evolution of reference materials for the determination of organic nutrients in food and dietary supplementsa critical review," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 411, 97-127 (2019).

10.   Lynch, J. M., "Quantities of Marine Debris Ingested by Sea Turtles: Global Meta-Analysis Highlights Need for Standardized Data Reporting Methods and Reveals Relative Risk," Environ. Sci. Technol., 52, 12026-12038 (2018).

11.   Neely, M. G., Morey, J. S., Anderson, P., Balmer, B. C., Ylitalo, G. M., Zolman, E. S., Speakman, T. R., Sinclair, C., Bachman, M. J., Huncik, K., Kucklick, J., Rosel, P. E., Mullin, K. D., Rowles, T. K., Schwacke, L. H., and Van Dolah, F. M., "Skin Transcriptomes of common bottlenose dolphins (& IT;Tursiops truncatus & IT;) from the northern Gulf of Mexico and southeastern US Atlantic coasts," Marine Genomics, 38, 45-58 (2018).

12.   Rhoderick, G. C., Kelley, M. E., Miller, W. R., Norris, J. E., Carney, J., Gameson, L., Cecelsld, C. E., Harris, K. J., Goodman, C. A., Srivastava, A., and Hodges, J. T., "NIST Standards for Measurement, Instrument Calibration, and Quantification of Gaseous Atmospheric Compounds," Analytical Chemistry, 90, 4711-4718 (2018).

13.   Reiner, J. L., Becker, P. R., Gribble, M. O., Lynch, J. M., Moors, A. J., Ness, J., Peterson, D., Pugh, R. S., Ragland, T., Rimmer, C., Rhoderick, J., Schantz, M. M., Trevillian, J., and Kucklick, J. R., "Organohalogen Contaminants and Vitamins in Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) Collected During Subsistence Hunts in Alaska," Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 70, 96-105 (2016).

14.   Rhoderick, G. C., Kitzis, D. R., Kelley, M. E., Miller, W. R., Hall, B. D., Dlugokencky, E. J., Tans, P. P., Possolo, A., and Carney, J., "Development of a Northern Continental Air Standard Reference Material," Analytical Chemistry, 88, 3376-3385 (2016).

15.   Vander Pol, S. S., Kucklick, J. R., Lynch, J. M., Pugh, R. S., Ragland, J. M., Reiner, J. L., Trevillian, J., and Schantz, M. M., "Lessons Learned from Monitoring Organic Contaminants in Three Decades of Marine Samples from the Pacific Basin Archived at the USA's Marine Environmental Specimen Bank," Persistent Organic Chemicals in the Environment: Status and Trends in the Pacific Basin Countries Ii: Temporal Trends, 1244, 1-19 (2016).

16.   Long, D. A., Wojtewicz, S., Miller, C. E., and Hodges, J. T., "Frequency-agile, rapid scanning cavity ring-down spectroscopy (FARS-CRDS) measurements of the (30012)<-(00001) near-infrared carbon dioxide band," Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, 161, 35-40 (2015).

17.   Reiner, J. L., Blaine, A. C., Higgins, C. P., Huset, C., Jenkins, T. M., Kwadijk, C. J. A. F., Lange, C. C., Muir, D. C. G., Reagen, W. K., Rich, C., Small, J. M., Strynar, M. J., Washington, J. W., Yoo, H., and Keller, J. M., "Polyfluorinated substances in abiotic standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 407, 2975-2983 (2015).

18.   Schantz, M. M., Benner, B. A., Heckert, N. A., Sander, L. C., Sharpless, K. E., Vander Pol, S. S., Vasquez, Y., Villegas, M., Wise, S. A., Alwis, K. U., Blount, B. C., Calafat, A. M., Li, Z., Silva, M. J., Ye, X., Gaudreau, E., Patterson, D. G., and Sjodin, A., "Development of urine standard reference materials for metabolites of organic chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, phenols, parabens, and volatile organic compounds," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 407, 2945-2954 (2015).

19.   Schantz, M. M., Pugh, R. S., Vander Pol, S. S., and Wise, S. A., "Long-term stability and temporal trends of organic contaminants in four collections of mussel tissue frozen standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 407, 3253-3258 (2015).

20.   Ragland, J. M., Liebert, D., and Wirth, E., "Using Procedural Blanks to Generate Analyte-Specific Limits of Detection for Persistent Organic Pollutants Based on GC-MS Analysis," Analytical Chemistry, 86, 7696-7704 (2014).

21.   van Zee, R. D. and Spinler, S., "Real option valuation of public sector R&D investments with a down-and-out barrier option," Technovation, 34, 477-484 (2014).

22.   Hoguet, J., Keller, J. M., Reiner, J. L., Kucklick, J. R., Bryan, C. E., Moors, A. J., Pugh, R. S., and Becker, P. R., "Spatial and temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants and mercury in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Alaska," Science of the Total Environment, 449, 285-294 (2013).

23.   Sander, L. C., Bedner, M., Duewer, D. L., Lippa, K. A., Phillips, M. M., Phinney, K. W., Rimmer, C. A., Schantz, M. M., Sharpless, K. E., Tai, S. S. C., Thomas, J. B., Wise, S. A., Wood, L. J., Betz, J. M., and Coates, P. M., "The development and implementation of quality assurance programs to support nutritional measurements," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 405, 4437-4441 (2013).

24.   Schantz, M. M., Eppe, G., Focant, J. F., Hamilton, C., Heckert, N. A., Heltsley, R. M., Hoover, D., Keller, J. M., Leigh, S. D., Patterson, D. G., Pintar, A. L., Sharpless, K. E., Sjodin, A., Turner, W. E., Vander Pol, S. S., and Wise, S. A., "Milk and serum standard reference materials for monitoring organic contaminants in human samples," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 405, 1203-1211 (2013).

25.   Keller, J. M., Ngai, L., McNeill, J. B., Wood, L. D., Stewart, K. R., O'Connell, S. G., and Kucklick, J. R., "Perfluoroalkyl contaminants in plasma of five sea turtle species: Comparisons in concentration and potential health risks," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 31, 1223-1230 (2012).

26.   Long, D. A. and Hodges, J. T., "On spectroscopic models of the O-2 A-band and their impact upon atmospheric retrievals," Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 117, (2012).

27.   Reiner, J. L., O'Connell, S. G., Butt, C. M., Mabury, S. A., Small, J. M., De Silva, A. O., Muir, D. C. G., Delinsky, A. D., Strynar, M. J., Lindstrom, A. B., Reagen, W. K., Malinsky, M., Schafer, S., Kwadijk, C. J. A. F., Schantz, M. M., and Keller, J. M., "Determination of perfluorinated alkyl acid concentrations in biological standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 404, 2683-2692 (2012).

28.   Rhoderick, G. C., Carney, J., and Guenther, F. R., "NIST Gravimetrically Prepared Atmospheric Level Methane in Dry Air Standards Suite," Analytical Chemistry, 84, 3802-3810 (2012).

29.   Wise, S. A., Phinney, K. W., Sander, L. C., and Schantz, M. M., "Role of chromatography in the development of Standard Reference Materials for organic analysis," Journal of Chromatography A, 1261, 3-22 (2012).

30.   Yu, L. L., Jarrett, J. M., Davis, W. C., Kilpatrick, E. L., Oflaz, R., Turk, G. C., Leber, D. D., Valentin, L., Morel-Espinosa, M., and Blount, B. C., "Characterization of perchlorate in a new frozen human urine standard reference material," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 404, 1877-1886 (2012).

31.   Kucklick, J., Schwacke, L., Wells, R., Hohn, A., Guichard, A., Yordy, J., Hansen, L., Zolman, E., Wilson, R., Litz, J., Nowacek, D., Rowles, T., Pugh, R., Balmer, B., Sinclair, C., and Rosel, P., "Bottlenose Dolphins as Indicators of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Western North Atlantic Ocean and Northern Gulf of Mexico," Environ. Sci. Technol., 45, 4270-4277 (2011).

32.   Ragland, J. M., Arendt, M. D., Kucklick, J. R., and Keller, J. M., "Persistent Organic Pollutants in Blood Plasma of Satellite-Tracked Adult Male Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta)," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 30, 1549-1556 (2011).

33.   Reiner, J. L., Phinney, K. W., and Keller, J. M., "Determination of perfluorinated compounds in human plasma and serum Standard Reference Materials using independent analytical methods," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 401, 2899-2907 (2011).

34.   Vander Pol, S. S., Hobson, K. A., Becker, P. R., Day, R. D., Ellisor, M. B., Pugh, R. S., and Roseneau, D. G., "Geographic differences in organic contaminants and stable isotopes (delta C-13, delta N-15) in thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) eggs from Alaska," Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 13, 699-705 (2011).

35.   Zeisler, R., Paul, R. L., Spatz, R. O., Yu, L. L., Mann, J. L., Kelly, W. R., Lang, B. E., Leigh, S. D., and Fagan, J., "Elemental analysis of a single-wall carbon nanotube candidate reference material," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 399, 509-517 (2011).

36.   Kucklick, J. R., Schantz, M. M., Pugh, R. S., Porter, B. J., Poster, D. L., Becker, P. R., Rowles, T. K., Leigh, S., and Wise, S. A., "Marine mammal blubber reference and control materials for use in the determination of halogenated organic compounds and fatty acids," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 397, 423-432 (2010).

37.   Long, D. A., Havey, D. K., Okumura, M., Miller, C. E., and Hodges, J. T., "O-2 A-band line parameters to support atmospheric remote sensing," Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, 111, 2021-2036 (2010).

38.   Keller, J. M., Swarthout, R. F., Carlson, B. K. R., Yordy, J., Guichard, A., Schantz, M. M., and Kucklick, J. R., "Comparison of five extraction methods for measuring PCBs, PBDEs, organochlorine pesticides, and lipid content in serum," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 393, 747-760 (2009).

39.   Pol, S. S. V., Becker, P. R., Ellisor, M. B., Moors, A. J., Pugh, R. S., and Roseneau, D. G., "Monitoring organic contaminants in eggs of glaucous and glaucous-winged gulls (Larus hyperboreus and Larus glaucescens) from Alaska," Environmental Pollution, 157, 755-762 (2009).

40.   Duewer, D., "The distribution of interlaboratory comparison data: response to the contribution by K. Heydorn," Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 13, 725-726 (2008).

41.   Duewer, D. L., Schantz, M. M., and Parris, R. M., "Evaluation of performance characteristics of multistep analytical methods from collaborative study of linked samples," Analytical Chemistry, 80, 7327-7335 (2008).

42.   Pugh, R. S., Becker, P. R., Porter, B. J., Ellisor, M. B., Moors, A. J., and Wise, S. A., "Design and applications of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) environmental specimen banking programs," Cell Preservation Technology, 6, 59-72 (2008).

43.   Schantz, M. M., Keller, J. M., Leigh, S., Patterson, D. G., Sharpless, K. E., Sjodin, A., Stapleton, H. M., Swarthout, R., Turner, W. E., and Wise, S. A., "Certification of SRM 1589a PCBs, pesticides, PBDEs, and dioxins/furans in human serum," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 389, 1201-1208 (2007).

44.   Schantz, M. M., Keller, J. M., Kucklick, J. R., Poster, D. L., Stapleton, H. M., Vander Pol, S. S., and Wise, S. A., "New standard reference material (SRM) 2585: Organic contaminants in house dust to support exposure assessment measurements," American Laboratory, 39, 22-+ (2007).

45.   Sharpless, K. E., Thomas, J. B., Christopher, S. J., Greenberg, R. R., Sander, L. C., Schantz, M. M., Welch, M. J., and Wise, S. A., "Standard reference materials for foods and dietary supplements," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 389, 171-178 (2007).

46.   Stapleton, H. M., Keller, J. M., Schantz, M. M., Kucklick, J. R., Leigh, S. D., and Wise, S. A., "Determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 387, 2365-2379 (2007).

47.   Vander Pol, S. S., Ellisor, M. B., Pugh, R. S., Becker, P. R., Poster, D. L., Schantz, M. M., Leigh, S. D., Wakeford, B. J., Roseneau, D. G., and Simac, K. S., "Development of a murre (Uria spp.) egg control material," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 387, 2357-2363 (2007).

48.   Keller, J. M., McClellan-Green, P. D., Kucklick, J. R., Keil, D. E., and Peden-Adams, M. M., "Effects of organochlorine contaminants on loggerhead sea turtle immunity: Comparison of a correlative field study and in vitro exposure experiments," Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, 70-76 (2006).

49.   Kucklick, J. R. and Helm, P. A., "Advances in the environmental analysis of polychlorinated naphthalenes and toxaphene," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 386, 819-836 (2006).

50.   Kucklick, J. R., Krahn, M. M., Becker, P. R., Porter, B. J., Schantz, M. M., York, G. S., O'Hara, T. M., and Wise, S. A., "Persistent organic pollutants in Alaskan ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) blubber," Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 8, 848-854 (2006).

51.   Stapleton, H. M., Harner, T., Shoeib, M., Keller, J. M., Schantz, M. M., Leigh, S. D., and Wise, S. A., "Determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in indoor dust standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 384, 791-800 (2006).

52.   Wise, S. A., Poster, D. L., Kucklick, J. R., Keller, J. M., VanderPol, S. S., Sander, L. C., and Schantz, M. M., "Standard reference materials (SRMs) for determination of organic contaminants in environmental samples," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 386, 1153-1190 (2006).

53.   Keller, J. M., Kannan, K., Taniyasu, S., Yamashita, N., Day, R. D., Arendt, M. D., Segars, A. L., and Kucklick, J. R., "Perfluorinated compounds in the plasma of loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles from the southeastern coast of the United States," Environ. Sci. Technol., 39, 9101-9108 (2005).

54.   Poster, D. L., Schantz, M. M., and Wise, S. A., "Preparation of Reference Material 8504, transformer oil," Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 110, 613-615 (2005).

55.   Schantz, M. M., Kucklick, J. R., Poster, D., Stapleton, H. M., and Wise, S. A., "Certification of a house dust standard reference material for determination of organic contaminants," Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 230, U209 (2005).

56.   Keller, J. M., Kucklick, J. R., and McClellan-Green, P. D., "Organochlorine contaminants in loggerhead sea turtle blood: Extraction techniques and distribution among plasma and red blood cells," Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 46, 254-264 (2004).

57.   Keller, J. M., Kucklick, J. R., Stamper, M. A., Harms, C. A., and McClellan-Green, P. D., "Associations between organochlorine contaminant concentrations and clinical health parameters in loggerhead sea turtles from North Carolina, USA," Environmental Health Perspectives, 112, 1074-1079 (2004).

58.   Keller, J. M., Kucklick, J. R., Harms, C. A., and McClellan-Green, P. D., "Organochlorine contaminants in sea turtles: Correlations between whole blood and fat," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 23, 726-738 (2004).

59.   Kucklick, J. R., Tuerk, K. J. S., Vander Pol, S. S., Schantz, M. M., and Wise, S. A., "Polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners and toxaphene in selected marine standard reference materials," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 378, 1147-1151 (2004).

60.   Poster, D. L., Schantz, M. M., Kucklick, J. R., De Alda, M. J. L., Porter, B. J., Pugh, R., and Wise, S. A., "Three new mussel tissue standard reference materials (SRMs) for the determination of organic contaminants," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 378, 1213-1231 (2004).

61.   Poster, D. L., Schantz, M. M., Leigh, S. D., and Wise, S. A., "Standard reference materials (SRMs) for the calibration and validation of analytical methods for PCBs (as Aroclor mixtures)," Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 109, 245-266 (2004).

62.   Schantz, M. and Wise, S., "CCQM-K25: Determination of PCB congeners in sediment," Metrologia, 41, (2004).

63.   Vander Pol, S. S., Becker, P. R., Kucklick, J. R., Pugh, R. S., Roseneau, D. G., and Simac, K. S., "Persistent organic pollutants in Alaskan murre (Uria spp.) eggs: Geographical, species, and temporal comparisons," Environ. Sci. Technol., 38, 1305-1312 (2004).

64.   Wise, S. A., Sharpless, K. E., Sander, L. C., and May, W. E., "Standard Reference Materials to support US regulations for nutrients and contaminants in food and dietary supplements," Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 9, 543-550 (2004).

65.   Wise, S. A., Poster, D. L., Schantz, M. M., Kucklick, J. R., Sander, L. C., de Alda, M. L., Schubert, P., Parris, R. M., and Porter, B. J., "Two new marine sediment standard reference materials (SRMs) for the determination of organic contaminants," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 378, 1251-1264 (2004).

66.   Poster, D. L., Kucklick, J. R., Schantz, M. M., Porter, B. J., Leigh, S. D., and Wise, S. A., "Determination of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and chlorinated pesticides in a fish tissue standard reference material," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 375, 223-241 (2003).

67.   Kucklick, J. R., Struntz, W. D. J., Becker, P. R., York, G. W., O'Hara, T. M., and Bohonowych, J. E., "Persistent organochlorine pollutants in ringed seals and polar bears collected from northern Alaska," Science of the Total Environment, 287, 45-59 (2002).

68.   Schantz, M. M., Parris, R. M., and Wise, S. A., "Performance-based quality assurance program for the analysis of PAHs, PCB congeners, and chlorinated pesticides in marine tissue and sediment samples," Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 220, U93 (2000).

69.   Wise, S. A., Benner, B. A., De Alda, M. J. L., Porter, B. J., Poster, D. L., Sander, L. C., and Schantz, M. M., "Recent developments in NIST standard reference materials for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental matrices," Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, 19, 297-313 (2000).