Abstract

This guide covers what and how information should be recorded in the field when sampling a ground-water monitoring well. This guide is limited to written documentation of a ground-water sampling event. When sampling ground-water monitoring wells, it is very important to thoroughly document all field activities. It is important to record procedures used and measurements immediately after they have been accomplished and are fresh in the memory. The format of the documentation is discretionary, but should be consistent from well to well and in accordance with regulatory requirements.

This abstract is a brief summary of the referenced standard. It is informational only and not an official part of the standard; the full text of the standard itself must be referred to for its use and application. ASTM does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents of this abstract are accurate, complete or up to date.

Significance and Use

When sampling groundwater monitoring wells, it is very important to thoroughly document all field activities. Sufficient field data should be retained to allow one to reconstruct the procedures and conditions that may have affected the integrity of a sample. The field data generated are vital to the interpretation of the chemical data obtained from laboratory analyses of samples. Field data and observations may also be useful to analytical laboratory personnel.

1. Scope

1.1 This guide covers what and how information should be recorded in the field when sampling a groundwater monitoring well. Following these recommendations will provide adequate documentation in most monitoring programs. In some situations, it may be necessary to record additional or different information, or both, to thoroughly document the sampling event. In other cases, it may not be necessary to record all of the information recommended in this guide. The level of documentation will be based on site-specific conditions and regulatory requirements.

1.2 This guide is limited to written documentation of a groundwater sampling event. Other methods of documentation (that is, electronic and audiovisual) can be used but are not addressed in this guide. The specific activities addressed in this guide include documentation of static water level measurement, monitoring well purging, monitoring well sampling, field measurements, groundwater sample preparation, and groundwater sample shipment.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.4 This guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word Standard in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D4750 Test Method for Determining Subsurface Liquid Levels in a Borehole or Monitoring Well (Observation Well)

D5088 Practice for Decontamination of Field Equipment Used at Waste Sites

D5608 Practices for Decontamination of Field Equipment Used at Low Level Radioactive Waste Sites

D5903 Guide for Planning and Preparing for a Groundwater Sampling Event

Keywords

documentation; groundwater sampling; monitoring well: Documents/documentation--water applications; Ground-water monitoring/sampling;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 13.060.10 (Water of natural resources)

DOI: 10.1520/D6089-97R10

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ASTM D6089