2015 National Coastal Conditions Assessment: Algal Toxins and Cyanotoxins in United States Great Lakes Samples Detected by Liquid Chromatography Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)

The EPA National Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA) is a nation-wide survey of coastal and estuarine water quality. During the 2015 EPA NCCA, samples were collected for analysis of algal toxins and cyanotoxins at the Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory (OGRL) at the U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC) by liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The 542 samples collected from the Great Lakes were analyzed for anatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin, domoic acid, 10 microcystin congeners, nodularin, and okadaic acid. A subset of samples were also analyzed for dinophysistoxin-1, dinophysistoxin-2, gymnodimine, pectenotoxin-2, and 13-desmethyl spirolide c.