The specific aims of this facility core are: (1) to provide routine analytical support including sample preparation, extraction, and standard analytical measurements to all Center investigators; (2) to provide assistance to Center investigators in the development and implementation of a sampling strategy for field investigations conducted in support of epidemiologic studies; and, (3) to assist in the development and implementation of quality assurance project plans for all Center research. A major focus of the Field Services Facility (FSF) core will be to assist investigators conducting epidemiologic studies. Safety and sampling equipment are maintained for collecting air, soil, surface water, groundwater, or sediment samples. For mechanistic studies, the FSF will assist investigators in quantifying specific chemicals or metabolites of compounds that are responsible for a specific metabolic response. Routine analytical support, to include sample preparation, extraction and HPLC or GC/MS analysis will also be provided by the FSF. Resources will be provided to assist investigators in the development of a Quality Assurance/Quality Control plans for Center research. The capabilities of the FSF were initially developed as a component of the NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Grant at TAMU. This component includes a field sampling team consisting of research scientists, professors, and graduate students who have received the OSHA 40 hour Safety Training course and associated refresher training. In addition, safety equipment is maintained to permit Level C sampling, as well as sampling equipment to allow for collection of surface and subsurface soils, sediment, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, dust, and air samples. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been developed for each of these media. Sampling has been done at over 50 Superfund sites in all geographic regions of the United States; these samples have been used by several investigators in the CMBT research core. For the South Texas Pregnancy Project, quarterly sampling has been conducted at 65 sampling stations, totaling over 150 samples of soil, surface water, sediment, and Rio Grande River water. Current activities of the FSF have focused on complex mixture risk assessment, biological methods of detoxification, and epidemiological and environmental investigations of disease clusters. In support of planned expansion of epidemiological studies to El Paso County, Texas and northern Mexico, the FSF will include planning in the identification of sample collection areas and media, as well as actual collection and extraction of field samples. The main facilities of the FSF are in the Agronomy Field Lab adjacent to the College of Veterinary Medicine, consisting of two laboratories with over 1,800 square feet of space. The FSF also includes approximately 2,300 square feet of laboratory space in the Veterinary Medical Administration Building. These facilities include sample preparation, analysis, and storage areas. Analytical instrumentation such as HPLC, GC/MS and fraction collector.
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