Designation: C998 − 17Standard Practice forSampling Surface Soil for Radionuclides 1This standard is issued under the f i xed designation C998; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 This practice covers the sampling of surface soil for thepurpose of obtaining a sample representative of a particulararea for subsequent chemical analysis of selected radionu-clides. This practice describes one acceptable approach tocollect soil samples for radiochemical analysis.1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard. No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.1.4 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards: 2C859 Terminology Relating to Nuclear MaterialsD420 Guide to Site Characterization for Engineering Designand Construction Purposes (Withdrawn 2011) 3D1129 Terminology Relating to Water2.2 Other References:MARLAP, Chapter 10IAEA-TECDOC-1415, Soil Sampling for EnvironmentalContaminants3. Terminology3.1 Except as otherwise def i ned herein, def i nitions of termsare as given in Terminology C859.3.2 Def i nitions:3.2.1 sampling, n—obtaining a representative portion of thematerial concerned (see Terminology D1129).4. Summary of Practice4.1 Guidance is provided for the collection of soil samplesto a depth of 50 mm. Ten core samples are collected in aspecif i ed pattern and composited to obtain sufficient sample soas to be representative of the area.5. Signif i cance and Use5.1 Soil provides a source material for the determination ofselected radionuclides and serves as an integrator of thedeposition of airborne materials. Soil sampling should not beused as the primary measurement system to demonstratecompliance with applicable radionuclides in air standards. Thisshould be done by air sampling or by measuring emission rates.Soil sampling does serve as a secondary system, and in manycases, is the only available avenue if insufficient air samplingoccurred at the time of an incident. For many insolubleradionuclides, the primary exposure pathway to the generalpopulation is by inhalation. The resuspension of transuranicelements has received considerable attention (1, 2) 4 and theirmeasurement in soil is one means of establishing compliancewith the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guide-lines on exposure to transuranic elements. Soil sampling canprovide useful information for other purposes, such as plantuptake studies, total inventory of various radionuclides in soildue to atmospheric nuclear tests, and the accumulation ofradionuclides as a function of time. A soil sampling andanalysis program as part of a preoperational environmentalmonitoring program serves to establish baseline concentra-tions. Consideration was given to these criteria in preparingthis practice.5.2 Soil collected using this practice and subsequent analy-sis can be used to monitor radionuclide deposition of emissionsfrom nuclear facilities. The critical factors necessary to provide1 This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C26 on NuclearFuel Cycle and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C26.05 on Methods ofTest.Current edition approved June 1, 2017. Published July 2017. Originally approvedin 1983. Last previous edition approved in 2010 as C998 – 05 (2010) ?1 . DOI:10.1520/C0998-17.2 For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3 The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced onwww.astm.org.4 The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end ofthis standard.Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United StatesThis international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.1 Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved); Sat Sep 30 19:59:52 EDT 2017Downloaded/printed byUniversity of Edinburgh (University of Edinburgh) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorized.
