Sampling Collection Procedures and Strategies for Chemical Incidents
Citation:
Willison, S. Sampling Collection Procedures and Strategies for Chemical Incidents. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/S-22/202, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
The summary document is a collection of work produced and published by HSRP, during StRAP III, that will inform stakeholders of our efforts to address chemical sampling procedures and strategies that can be used during an incident. CESER’s Homeland Security Research Program supports our stakeholders by addressing the gaps associated with sampling procedures and strategies that can be used to inform decision-makers during chemical incidents and remediation efforts. Sampling studies will continue to be developed during the next planned phase of the HS Research Program in order to ensure the Agency and its stakeholders are prepared to address such incidents.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) is responsible for responding to environmental contamination incidents that affect human health and the environment. These emergency response efforts will require sampling of a contaminated area until remediation is complete. Sampling is an important tool used to monitor remediation progression by informing response personnel with the following information, including but not limited to: contamination spread, areas of high contamination (hot spots), determination of decontamination efficacy (and to potentially inform additional remediation efforts), advising economic impacts of generated waste and waste streams, and to notify personnel whether an affected area can be released for civilian reoccupation. Sampling efforts may create a bottleneck for site clearance if hundreds to thousands of samples are generated, which can overwhelm resources (e.g., laboratory capacity and capability) during remediation efforts. Determining an appropriate sampling strategy and procedure can align resources more accordingly and reduce the burden on emergency response personnel and decision-makers. EPA’s Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) developed sampling strategies and procedures applicable for chemical contamination. The tools developed by HSRP aim to optimize sampling strategies and procedures and assist EPA partners and Program Offices during a response to a chemical incident.