Laboratory Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Biological Tissues

The Resource Stewardship Division (RSD) of Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) is responsible for providing credible scientific data and relevant information on the condition of Alberta's environment. The Division's mandate includes the timely and objective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of air, land, water, and biodiversity to support an improved understanding of cumulative environmental effects. These data support evidence-based decision-making by the public, policy-makers, regulators, researchers, Indigenous communities, industry, and other stakeholders. The objective of this project is to support multiple environmental monitoring programs within the Alberta Oil Sands Region through the laboratory analysis of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in biological tissues. Biological samples, including whole fish and fish tissue, will be collected under a number of approved monitoring work plans to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of PACs in aquatic ecosystems and assess potential changes relative to baseline. The successful Contractor will be responsible for receiving, homogenizing, extracting, and analyzing biological tissue samples for parent and alkylated PACs in accordance with the analytical requirements specified in this Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP will establish a contract with a qualified commercial laboratory to provide analytical services for the determination of parent and alkylated PACs in biological tissues, including fish. A detailed description of the required services is provided in Appendix B – Scope of Services.