PSD cleanup

We performed the field cleanup steps for the samples collected yesterday. For the UN-GEF project, this cleanup is performed in the lab, not in the field. The following Locustox staff were in attendance: Cheikh, Adama, Anna, and Marie.

I demonstrated the proper PSD cleanup procedure using the field and trip blanks from yesterday’s retrieval. Note that these blanks do not normally get this cleanup, but this was for demonstration purposes. The staff then completed the remaining sample cleanup including an extraction blank. These samples will be extracted tomorrow.

The OSU field benchsheets have a location to record the manufacturer and lot numbers of the cleanup reagents. I neglected to move this information from the field to the extraction benchsheet and as a result it was not recorded. I will rectify the problem when Cheikh and I review the benchsheets.

The PSD dialysis portion of the extraction needs to be completed in a single day; therefore, the extraction will not begin until Thursday morning. The entire extraction should be complete by Friday afternoon.

The prep blank, lab spike, and field and trip blanks from the deployment will not be extracted this round. This first extraction will familiarize the staff with the procedures. As the mentioned samples are valuable and irreplaceable quality control, they will be part of the second extraction to take place after retrieval of the Locustox/OSU duplicates next week.

One thing has become clear: It would be preferable to have the SOPs and SAMs translated into French. This is something that is important not just to Locustox, but to future partner labs.

Also, a number of the details are lab specific, which is to be expected for a SOP, but they need to be modified for Locustox and the UN-GEF project in general (such as the cleanup reagents info). I can help consult on the specifics and Cheikh could translate but we are limited on time; therefore, we are assigning the staff the documents to translate. This should help familiarize them with the procedures and benchsheets.

After the translation we will review the documents and make necessary changes. All the translated documents will be emailed to OSU for further review and backup.