EN CORE® Sampler Performance: Storing Soil for VOC Analysis

Validation of a New Soil VOC Sampler: Precision of the Performance of the En Core Sampler to Store Low VOC Concentrations

“…In many cases, 90% or greater of the analyte concentrations were recovered for these storage conditions. These findings are very similar to those previously reported for the soils, storage conditions, analytes of interest, and analyte concentrations used in this study (Sorini et al 2001 and2002). A table showing similar results to those presented in Table 7 is given in Appendix X1 of ASTM Practice D 6418 (ASTM 2001b).…”

“…Freezing as a method of preservation has several advantages over chemical preservation in the field in that no prior knowledge of VOC concentrations in the sample is required, field personnel do not have to handle chemicals or weigh samples in the field, concern about acidifying carbonaceous soils can be avoided, and Department of Transportation regulations concerning transport of hazardous chemicals do not apply. The En Core sampler has been shown to perform well for storage of soil samples for VOC analysis under freezing conditions (Sorini and Schabron 1999aand Sorini et al 2001and 2002. As a result, inclusion of freezing as an accepted preservation technique for VOC samples in D 4547 will increase the usefulness of the En Core device.…”

“…Recently, data have been generated showing that loss of VOCs can be prevented by storing samples for VOC analysis at -12±2 /C, either immediately after collection in the field or after storage at 4±2 /C for 48 hours to allow sample transportation to the laboratory (Hewitt 1999;Sorini and Schabron 1999a;andSorini et al 2001 and2002). Freezing as a method of preservation has several advantages over chemical preservation in the field in that no prior knowledge of VOC concentrations in the sample is required, field personnel do not have to handle chemicals or weigh samples in the field, concern about acidifying carbonaceous soils can be avoided, and Department of Transportation regulations concerning transport of hazardous chemicals do not apply.…”

“…This analyte concentration in the soil was selected to limit the influence of the analytical method on the data. A second study was conducted to answer questions on the performance of the En Core sampler for storage of soil samples containing low-level (<200 µg/Kg) concentrations of VOCs (Sorini et al 2001 and2002). In this study, soil samples were spiked with concentrations of VOCs at approximately 100 µg/Kg and stored under various conditions prior to analysis.…”

“…In this study, soil samples were spiked with concentrations of VOCs at approximately 100 µg/Kg and stored under various conditions prior to analysis. The third study was performed to generate data on the performance of the 25-gram En Core sampler to store soil samples spiked with EPA Method 1311, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) (U.S. EPA 1992), volatile organic analytes under various conditions for 14 days (Sorini et al 2001 and2002). The low-level performance data and TCLP analyte storage data are included in appendices to the ASTM practice (ASTM 2001b), and the ASTM research report describing the high-level study (Sorini and Schabron 1999b) is referenced in the practice.…”