ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR A NATIONAL STUDY OF CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FISH .2. PESTICIDES AND POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS

Analytical methods and a quality assurance plan have been developed to determine the concentration of a select group of bioaccumulatable che micals in fish tissue. The analytes include PCBs and 21 pesticides and industrial chemicals. The methodology has been used to conduct a surv ey of chemical contaminants in fish from nearly 400 major watersheds i n the United States. The methodology consists of the preparation of a single extract via soxhlet extraction, gel permeation and silica gel c hromatography and quantification by HRGC/LRMS. The minimum level of de tection for most analytes is near 1 ng/g. Rigorous quality assurance/q uality control criteria have been developed to assure the generation o f high quality data.