Schedule B3 - COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water

1 Guideline for the laboratory analysis of potentially
contaminated soil
1.1 Introduction
This guideline is applicable to laboratory analysis of contaminated soils for assessment of site
contamination and waste soil disposal. It also contains information on the collection of
contaminated soil, including storage and handling considerations to enable valid analysis.
Rigorous characterisation and quantification of soil contaminants helps to ensure valid
assessments of site contamination. Consistency in analysis and assessment can only be achieved
if there is uniformity in procedures including sample collection, storage and handling, pretreatment,
extraction, analytical methodology and data analysis. This document gives guidance
on quality control, quality assurance, and techniques for sample preparation, extraction and
analytical methods.
1.2 Audience
This guideline should be used by people undertaking sampling and analysis of potentially
contaminated soils. Its main audience includes but is not limited to:
• laboratory staff
• environmental consultants
• regulatory licence holders (e.g. for waste management or other statutory processes)
• custodians of waste /sites containing waste.
1.3 Exclusions
Groundwater analyses are beyond the scope of this <strong>Schedule</strong>.
1.4 <strong>Schedule</strong> structure
The <strong>Schedule</strong> will provide guidelines on laboratory analysis of potentially contaminated soils:
• the philosophy behind the methods selected
• guidance on quality assurance procedures
• techniques for sample preparation designed to provide confidence and comparability of
analytical results.
The <strong>Schedule</strong> will provide analytical methods for potentially contaminated soils:
• a list of methods for analysis of physicochemical properties of inorganic and organic
chemicals in soil.
<strong>Schedule</strong> <strong>B3</strong> - Guideline on laboratory analysis of potentially contaminated soils 1