C-30: Best practices for archiving marine samples for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB)

Formal environmental specimen banking has been recognized internationally as an important component of long-term environmental research and monitoring programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been involved in environmental specimen banking for over 30 years through collaborations primarily with other U.S. government agencies as well as with universities and non-profit organizations. Biological (i.e., marine mammal tissue, seabird egg contents, sea turtle tissue, fish tissue, coral, etc.) and environmental (i.e., marine sediment, macroalgae, etc.) specimen collections from individual projects are maintained at the Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB), Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC. Carefully designed and standardized protocols for sample collection, processing, and banking have been developed primarily to conduct research on environmental contaminant measurements but specimens have been and could be used for additional purposes, such as genetic studies, biotoxin exposure, and infectious disease research. The carefully designed protocols and procedures for collecting these specimens vary depending on a number of factors, such as specimen type, availability of the specimen, and the collection location, but a best practice guideline is to strictly adhere to these protocols in order to ensure the quality of the sample is not compromised for its intended purpose. Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and Control Materials (CMs) intended for use in method development and validation as well as for quality assurance and for use in assigning values for selected environmental contaminants are also produced by NIST and provide a resource to ensure sample stability of specimens archived at the Marine ESB.