Guidelines for laboratories producing data for AMAP Human Health Studies - Version 1.0 May 2009.

Abstract

"AMAP's current objective is "providing reliable and sufficient information on the status of, and threats to, the Arctic environment, and providing scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants" (AMAP, 2008). Long-term monitoring and trend analysis of contaminant levels in Arctic populations is a crucial component of this objective. Blood is the medium of choice for biological monitoring of contaminants as it accurately reflects the body burden of metals as well as organic contaminants, and is universally available from all members of a population. For lipophilic compounds, which include most POPs, blood levels, expressed on a lipid basis, are well-correlated with levels in other compartments such as stored fat and breast milk. To ensure the comparability of data obtained from different countries requires that adequately sampled and preserved blood specimens be obtained. Laboratories performing the analyses must demonstrate equivalence of results. Data generated must be analyzed using equivalent statistical design and conventions." /.../