1. Scope
1.1 Following a release or event involving biological, chemical or radiological agents there will be a need for sampling to characterize the nature and extent of contamination prior to decontamination, followed by clearance sampling to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleanup. This guide provides a review of the methods used to specify the sampling design criteria for characterization and clearance objectives.
1.2 Sampling design methods may be categorized into the following groups: Judgmental Sampling; Simple Random Sampling; Stratified Sampling; Systematic or Grid Sampling; Ranked Set Sampling; Adaptive Cluster Sampling; Composite Sampling; and Geostatistical/Optimization Sampling. Each of these methods is summarized in this guide.
1.3 Care must be exercised in applying these methods not to violate any inherent assumptions or criteria for application to a given situation.
1.4 This guide draws extensively from published regulatory guidance [1,2] and other literature [ASTM standards] for the specification of the sampling design methods.
1.5 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.
This standard will be used to guide sampling designs to characterize the amount and presence of contamination in the event of a terrorist attack with chemical, biological, or radiological warfare agents.
Keywords
Homeland Security
The title and scope are in draft form and are under development within this ASTM Committee.
Citing ASTM Standards
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