Trace Analysis of Semivolatile Compounds in Marine Sediment Using the Agilent 7000 Triple Quadrapole GC/MS
Poster Presentation
Prepared by D. Wood
Environmental Protection Agency, 7411 Beach Drive East, Port Orchard, WA, 98366, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 360-871-8772
ABSTRACT
The USEPA Region 10 Laboratory in Port Orchard, WA developed procedures to achieve low semivolatile organic compounds’ quantitation limits for the analysis of marine sediments. This development was necessary to support Ocean Dredged Materials Dumping Site (ODMDS) projects that require chemical analyses at or below screening levels (SLs) to determine whether the sediments are suitable for unconfined open-water disposal. Management of dredged material and Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDS) is a shared responsibility of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE/Corps) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). The SLs are challenging due to the low quantitation limits needed for the marine sediment matrix.
Typically a lower quantitation limit is achieved by increasing the amount of sample extracted then concentrating the extract. For marine sediments, increasing the extraction amount also increases the interferences and cleanups. The USEPA Region 10 Laboratory developed an efficient GC/MS/MS method for the analysis of 37 semivolatile organic compounds in marine sediments. This method required no cleanup or sample concentration and met the project requirements or SLs of 10 ug/kg for most compounds such as the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.
Poster Presentation
Prepared by D. Wood
Environmental Protection Agency, 7411 Beach Drive East, Port Orchard, WA, 98366, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 360-871-8772
ABSTRACT
The USEPA Region 10 Laboratory in Port Orchard, WA developed procedures to achieve low semivolatile organic compounds’ quantitation limits for the analysis of marine sediments. This development was necessary to support Ocean Dredged Materials Dumping Site (ODMDS) projects that require chemical analyses at or below screening levels (SLs) to determine whether the sediments are suitable for unconfined open-water disposal. Management of dredged material and Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDS) is a shared responsibility of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE/Corps) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). The SLs are challenging due to the low quantitation limits needed for the marine sediment matrix.
Typically a lower quantitation limit is achieved by increasing the amount of sample extracted then concentrating the extract. For marine sediments, increasing the extraction amount also increases the interferences and cleanups. The USEPA Region 10 Laboratory developed an efficient GC/MS/MS method for the analysis of 37 semivolatile organic compounds in marine sediments. This method required no cleanup or sample concentration and met the project requirements or SLs of 10 ug/kg for most compounds such as the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.
