Data to Support the Evaluation of Alternative Coatings for USGS Water-Quality Samplers

A series of blank samples were analyzed as part of a study to evaluate alternative coatings for USGS water-quality samplers. The open-file report to be published in association with this data is titled "Evaluation of Alternative Coatings for U.S. Geological Survey Water-Quality Samplers" (Thornton, 2025) and includes further details of the study. The five coating options evaluated were Duracoat, Plasti-Dip, Powder Coat, Raptor, and bare metal (no coating). Water-quality samples were processed to determine if any coating leached constituents that are commonly collected using these samplers. Samples were collected and processed in late 2020 at the USGS Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center in Richmond, VA (USGS VA/WV-WSC), and analyzed for nutrients and trace elements by the USGS National Water-Quality Laboratory in Denver, CO. Analyte concentrations, measured in samples collected for each of the five sampler coating types, are reported in the file "Dataset_blank_sample_data.csv". A description of each parameter is provided in the file "Data Dictionary.csv".