The Citizen Science Network are the fishermen who received training in sample collection and gathered samples of seafood for laboratory analysis for the GC-HARMS project.

A Bioassay is the use of live cells or tissues in the laboratory in order to determine the biological activity or potency of a substance.

Benzo(a)pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with cancer-causing properties. It is one of the most well studied PAH. It can be found in coal tar and crude oil, as well as combustion products.
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The Geographic Coordinates are the precise place on the earth that the sample was taken. The geographic coordinates on the Seafood Sampling Map are expressed as latitude and longitude in decimal degrees.

GC-MS stands for Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectroscopy, a laboratory process used to identify different compounds within a sample and measure their amount.
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Parts Per Billion (ppb) represents the concentration of something in a sample. One ppb represents one piece of a whole divided into one billion pieces. In other words, one drop of oil in one billion drops of water (somewhere around 13,000 gallons) would be 1 ppb of oil in that water.
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Standard Deviation is a measure of the distribution above or below the average PAH level in multiple samples taken from the same site at the same time.
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The GC-HARMS project is looking specifically at 42 petrogenic PAH, that is, PAH that occur in crude oil.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), also referred to as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, are  hydrocarbon molecules made of only carbon and hydrogen arranged in aromatic rings. PAH are found in crude oil and coal. PAH are also produced from the incomplete burning of organic matter; such as in fires, cooking and vehicle exhaust. Some PAH are known to cause cancer and some are suspected to cause cancer.

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One use of a calibration curve in analytical chemistry is to calculate the potential toxicity of a substance by comparing it to values of a prepared solution of a similar or related substance with known toxicological characteristics. (more…)

The Levels Of Concern are the smallest amount of a compound or substance that causes a measureable health effect.

How The Levels Of Concern Were Determined

Determination of PAH-related hazard identification (a PAH toxic equivalence) in the seafood involved use of a cell culture-based bioassay that makes use of established biochemical pathways central to the onset of multiple toxic responses induced by PAHs. (more…)

Species to be Taken: Speckled Trout/Amberjack/King Mackerel / Red Snapper / Grouper / Flounder / Sheepshead / Redfish

Upon arrival at a location to be sampled, designate and record station number, date, time and GPS readings on the Field Observation Form. Describe sample location and sample species on the Field Observation Form. Take photographs of area sampled. Record water temperature on the Field Observation Form. (more…)

For the GC HARMS Project
A Collaboration of:
Subra Company/Louisiana Environmental Action Network
UTMB Center for Environmental Toxicology (more…)

The WK Kellogg Foundation Community Health Scholars Program has defined community-based participatory research as a “collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community, has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities.” (more…)