Quality Assurance Plan for Analyses of Environmental Samples for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Persistent Organic Pollutants, Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate, Estrogenic Compounds, Steroids, Hydroxylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Stable Isotope Ratios, and Lipid Classes

This technical memorandum serves as the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for analyses of biota, water, and sediment samples for selected contaminants and biological compounds by the Environmental Chemistry Program (ECP) within the Environmental and Fisheries Sciences Division, in collaboration with the Ecosystem Analysis Program (EAP) within the Fish Ecology Division, at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). This QAP describes NWFSC’s quality objectives, as well as policies implemented for achieving the objectives and procedures for assessing the completeness of the objectives. It also provides guidelines for monitoring and documenting the quality of analyses so that a desired level of performance can be demonstrated and maintained. These guidelines are based on protocols established previously for specific projects under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and have been adapted to new types of analyses and current technologies. This document updates and supersedes NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-77 (Sloan et al. 2006).