WorldWide Drilling Resource

27 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2013 Outsmarting the Dirt ~ Soil Sampling Part 2 by Thomas D. Dalzell, CWD Director of Environmental Research AMS, Inc. Lack of proper preparation and planning leads to poor performance! Prior to conducting an EI (subsur- face environment drilling investigation), the following items, as a minimum, need to be taken into account: (1) The project manager must en- sure the scope of work (SOW) meets all regulatory requirements and customer/client job specifica- tions - before all field work is sched- uled and appropriate field personnel selected. (2) The project manager and all field personnel need to have and under- stand the scope of work/job speci- fications. (3) The project manager needs to determine the applicable health and safety requirements, then add any appropriate procedures necessary for the sampling activities. (4) The appropriate personal pro- tective equipment (PPE) for all peo- ple involved with drilling, sample collection, and handling must be selected and used. (5) The appropriate sampling and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures - duplicate, rin- seate (waste decontamination water), and other sample collection proce- dures must be determined and spec- ified. (6) Field documentation procedures must be determined and specified. (7) Consistent field procedures must be established and maintained. (8) Determine the proper laboratory analysis and preservation proce- dures. Summary and conclusions The purpose of this article is to list/ outline the crucial steps and consider- ations, at a minimum, which should be taken into account, every time, to devel- op and conduct a complete and successful sub- surface soil sam- pling plan. A p r o j e c t manager must deve l op a f u l l SOW based on a full understanding of the project, then apply all necessary regulatory require- ments, customer job specifications, ap- plicable standard operating procedures (SOPs), and applicable health and safety preparations and procedures (HASPs). The SOW must specify the sample locations and depths as well as the SOPs for sampling, quality control, and proper decontamination. Any variance in field activities from the specified SOW must not contradict the applicable regulatory requirements, customer job specifications, SOPs, or HASPs. All personnel involved with sampling and field activities must have and use PPE. Proper decontamination should never be ignored or disregarded. The following are a few of the benefits of proper de- contamination in conjunction with collect- ing samples for EI purposes: (1) Avoids cross contamination be- tween sampling events/intervals and between soil borings; (2) Increases drilling and sampling efficiency and can provide ease on drilling/sampling team; and (3) Increases life of drilling tooling and sampling equipment. We will conclude the soil sampling portion of “Outsmarting the Dirt” next month. Tom Thomas D. Dalzell may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Make sure your company is included on our Jubilee Pinpointer Map! 850-547-0102 Reduced rates for current advertisers! Time is almost up!