biological tissue

ACZ has approximately 15 years of experience in analyzing plant, animal and fish for radiochemical, PCB and trace metal contamination. We have accomplished a variety of bioassay studies of fish tissue and plant tissue including toxicity testing for mercury in fish, mercury analysis on plant tissue, plant tissue testing for PCB contamination and other testing for toxic metal in fish. Bioaccumulation studies include testing for heavy metal in fish and testing of plant toxic metals from samples across the world, including the Antarctic and the South Pacific. Due to the sensitivity of native organisms to many low-level man-made contaminants, ACZ protocol includes rigorous QA/QC to determine and verify our results. We supply litigation-quality data that will withstand extensive review.

Dual instrumentation in our facility enables us to accept large projects and maintain timely delivery of results. Our clean room allows us to see trace levels of metal contaminants that otherwise would not be detected. ACZ made a substantial investment in this area with the purchase of an Agilent (HP) 7500 ICP-MS and a Leeman Hydra AF Gold Plus Mercury Analyzer. As federal and state regulations get more stringent, ACZ will be capable of supporting the new, lower detection limits required for biota testing.

ACZ has performed trace metal analysis on minuscule samples using a micro-digestion and a smaller final sample volume in order to achieve very low detection limits. We are also capable of homogenizing large samples and performing analysis on a representative aliquot. Our experience and our facility set us apart in this area of environmental analysis, and we are proud to be an industry leader.

Projects Supported PCB Contamination in Aquatic Tissue Radiochemical Contamination in Benthic Organisms Complete Bio-Accumulation Studies Trace Metal Analysis in Small Mammal Organs Biota Analyzed Fish (both large and small) Snakes/Small Reptiles Insects Small Mammals Benthic Organisms Plants

Please contact an ACZ representative for a list of specific projects relating to biological tissue studies.