Field Equipment Decontamination Procedures for Soil Sampling

Soil sampling equipment falls into one of two categories – equipment that is manually operated and equipment that is deployed using a portable drive source, or a direct-push or drilling rig. Most soil sampling equipment is designed and built to be reused, so it is a common practice to deploy the same soil sampling equipment at multiple sampling locations. This is certainly convenient, but introduces the potential for cross-contamination of sampling locations and individual samples, both of which may affect the representative nature of samples collected. To prevent this potentially very serious and costly problem, it is critical to implement thorough and effective field equipment cleaning protocols. This module discusses in detail field equipment cleaning protocols that apply to equipment used for sampling soil, both sample-contacting equipment and equipment that facilitates sample collection but doesn’t contact the sample. Learn how decontamination procedures may vary according to the sampling equipment being used and by the contaminants being analyzed in samples. Discover why a few of the “detergents” commonly used for field equipment cleaning should be avoided for some field applications because they may contain phosphates, and why others may introduce trace amounts of semi-volatile compounds if not diluted sufficiently. You will also learn important terminology such as the differences between portable, dedicated, designated and disposable field equipment.

Module SS-04 (Total Length: 68 minutes) Price: $159.00 Sign in to Your E-School Account to Register

Field Equipment Decontamination Procedures for Soil Sampling

  • Purposes of Field Equipment Decontamination
  • Considerations for Selection of an Effective Field Decontamination Protocol
  • Discussion of ASTM Standards D 5088 and D 5608 on Field Equipment Decontamination
  • Control Water – Understanding the Term and How it Affects Decon Water Selection for Various Contaminants and Equipment
  • Dedicated vs. Designated vs. Portable vs. Disposable Equipment – Understanding the Differences and Building Them Into Your Cleaning Protocols
  • Problems Associated With Using Chemical Desorbing Agents
  • QA/QC Elements of Equipment Cleaning Programs
  • Avoiding Common Errors in the Field During Equipment Cleaning

Total CEUs for Module SS-04: 1.1 CEUs