Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies the procedure for screening (3.5) soils for selected elements using handheld or portable equipment of ED-XRF. It addresses primary the application of this method or screening method (3.6) on-site, to obtain qualitative or semiquantitative data to assist decisions on a sampling strategy for detailed assessment of soil quality using laboratory methods of chemical analysis.

Note 1 Screening methods generally give qualitative or semiquantitative concentration values that mean concentration levels while the methods occasionally give quantitative results under specific or limited conditions. See 3.5 and 3.6 for the definitions and characteristics of screening methods.

Note 2 The higher the efforts for pretreatment used on soil samples, the better the analytical results can be expected (see e.g. Reference [11]).

This document does not explicitly specify elements for which it is applicable, since the applicability depends on the performance of the apparatus and the objective of the screening. The elements which can be determined are limited by the performance of the instrument used, the concentrations of particular elements present in the soil, and the requirements of the investigation in terms of the minimum concentrations of concern (e.g. guideline value).

Note 3 The XRF measurements of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, V and Zn were validated as described in Annex A.

Note 4 Examples of when screening with a handheld/portable ED-XRF spectrometer can be useful are provided in Annex B.

This document does not provide guidance on how to use the equipment to provide quantitative data for use in detailed site assessments.