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Summary
ABSTRACT:

The "National Environmental Specimen Bank," one of many projects
within the National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NBSB) at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), was
established in 1979 as a pilot program to investigate the
feasibility of long-term storage of environmental samples.
Well-preserved and documented ... samples are archived for
retrospective analysis as analytical techniques improve or as
concerns about previously unidentified pollutants arise. To
date, this pilot project has focused primarily on the
establishment of a human liver bank, the analysis of
approximately 20% of the archived liver specimens for selected
organic and inorganic constituents, and research related to
specimen banking. Approximately 600 liver specimens have been
collected since 1980; analysis for trace elements, organic
pesticides, and PCBs have been done on about 100 of these
samples. In addition, NIST has made a comparison of different
storage conditions and has developed sampling and storage
protocols for archived specimens. The existing database on the
stored human liver specimens and the unanalyzed liver specimens
in the bank offer a number of opportunities, such as: providing
baseline environmental data for monitoring pollutant trends over
time and among different sites; providing the opportunity for
retrospective analysis of samples from the past; and evaluating
the stability of biological samples during storage.
LANGUAGE:

English
ACCESS/AVAILABILITY:

Data Center: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Dissemination Media: Hard copy (journal publications) and
diskette
File Format: ASCII
Access Instructions: Contact the data center.
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Availability Status: On Request
Documentation Available:

Geographic Coverage Spatial coordinates   

N: 39.95

S: 37.69

E: -74.82

W: -79.71

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1980-01-01

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > MARYLAND > Baltimore CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > MINNESOTA > Minneapolis CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > MARYLAND > Minnesota

Science Keywords

HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONTAMINANTS HUMAN DIMENSIONS > HUMAN HEALTH > DISEASES/EPIDEMICS HUMAN DIMENSIONS > HUMAN HEALTH > PUBLIC HEALTH HUMAN DIMENSIONS > HUMAN HEALTH > VITAL STATISTICS

ISO Topic Category

ENVIRONMENT HEALTH

Ancillary Keywords

BALTIMORE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS HAZARDOUS EXPOSURES HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HUMAN LIVER SPECIMENS IDN_NODE GSFC/NIST LIFE SCIENCES LIVERS MARYLAND MEDICAL SCIENCES MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA MONITORING ORGANIC PESTICIDES PCBS POLLUTANT TRENDS POLLUTANTS SAMPLING SEATTLE SPECIMEN BANKING TOXIC CHEMICALS TOXIC EXPOSURES TOXICOLOGY TRACE ELEMENTS WASHINGTON

Originating Center

NIST

Data Center

National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce Data Center URL: http://www.nist.gov Data Center Personnel Name: STEPHEN A. WISE Phone: 301-975-3112 Contact Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Building 222, Room B-158 City: Gaithersburg Province or State: MD Postal Code: 20899 Country: USA

Personnel

STEPHEN A. WISE Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT Phone: 301-975-3112 Contact Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Building 222, Room B-158 City: Gaithersburg Province or State: MD Postal Code: 20899 Country: USA

Publications/References
SOURCE REFERENCES:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). May 1992.
Inventory of Exposure-related Data Systems Sponsored by Federal
Agencies. Washington, DC : USEPA.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:

Wise, Stephen A. et al. 1989. "Experiences in Environmental
Specimen Banking." International Journal of Environmental
Analytical Chemistry; v. 37, p. 91-106.

Zeisler, R. et al., eds. 1983. "Biological Trace Element
Residues." National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 656.

Zeisler, R. et al., eds. 1983. "The Pilot Environmental National
Specimen Bank-Analysis of Human Liver Specimens." National
Bureau of Standards Special Publication 656.

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2005-11-04 Last DIF Revision Date: 2008-02-27

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