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SOIL SAMPLING FOR CHARACTERIZING HAZARDOUS WASTE
Citation:
Schumacher, B A., J J. van Ee, AND E J. Englund. SOIL SAMPLING FOR CHARACTERIZING HAZARDOUS WASTE. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated, New York, NY, (1996).
Description:
The sampling of soil, or any heterogeneous media, requires an understanding of the spatial and temporal scales of interest to the decision makers. Depending on how the media is sampled and analyzed, and how the data are processed, almost any "valid" contaminant concentration can be obtained. In the absence of other data, data from the sampling and analysis of soil (or hazardous waste) are frequently assumed to represent the actual contaminant concentration in the vicinity of the sampling point when emphasis is placed on characterizing the distribution of a contaminant in the soil. When additional data are obtained in the vicinity of that sampling point, differences in contaminant concentrations almost always occur. The dilemma, then, is to try to determine the true concentration of the contaminant within a given area of volume of soil using the most efficient sampling design and minimizing the errors that occur during sample collection. This article will provide a basic understanding of the processes and factors involved in the sampling of soils at a hazardous waste site.