The technique applied by NAEG specifically for profile sampling is a modification of the profile sampling method used in soil surveys (Soil Survey Staff, Dept. of Agriculture, 1951); its origin appears to be lost in history. A trench of appropriate size for ease of access is opened adjacent to the point to be sampled. The face of the trench adjccent to the area to be sampled is shaved from side to side to the depth of each sample; the debris is then removed from the trench. A metal flat-bottomed scoop, preferably stainless steel, 10x10x5 cm deep with the opened edges sharpened, is inverted and pressed into the soil surface. The back of the scoop just contacts the exposed, shaved face of the cut. Adjacent soil exterior to the scoop is removed to the 5-cm depth; the scoop is carefully withdrawn, tnverted, and pressed into the exposed face so as to encompass the exposed block of soil. A template is pressed into the soil vertically at the front (open end) of the scoop to isolate the block of soil, which is then transferred to the sample container. Tools are decontaminated or replaced and the procedure continued to the desired total depth, Every attempt is made to avoid cross-contamination, The procedure works well in sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand. It does not work well on soils with more than a few small stones. Bernhardt (1976) surveyed the literature for soil sampling and analytical techniques for environmental concentrations of plutonium. Bernhardt mistakenly stated that the NAEG sampling technique is "intended for sandy and rocky soils that cannot be sampled by core techniques" and that for surface samples, "a minimum number of five separate samples should be taken along a straight line transect and composited for analysis." He also mistakenly stated that for profile samples, “a minimum of five samples should be taken from separate trenches along a straight Line transect. Composite the samples for analysis." While NAEG neither endorses nor disapproves transect sampling and/or compositing for its operations, these methods have not been used for routine inventory and distribution sampling by NAEG. The procedures do not work well in very rocky soils but do work well on most other nonhighly compacted soils. The procedures used by NAEG are in lieu of core sampling techniques in an effort to reduce cross-contamination. Transects have been used as preliminary site surveys for the purpose of approximating the location of radioactivity at a site. Compositing of samples has not been done; the value of compositing as a general procedure is open to question. Techniques for the sampling of scils at Enewetak in a recent extensive sampling effort were described by Lynch and Gudiksen (1974). The soil matrix was coral sand and coral with varied amounts of organic matter and the parent material was coral limestone bedrock. Two types of soil samples were taken; surface and profile, At surface sampling locations, two samples were coltected: one was a 30-cm? x 15-cm-deep core, and the second was a composite of two 30-cm? x S-cm-deep cores. Profile samples were obtained using the trench method described above for NAEG profile sample collections. Comparisons of methods were not discussed. Schneider (1974) sampled soils at the DuPont, Savannah River Complex as part of a study of soil-plant relationships. A "large hole" (dimensions not given) is dug to a depth of 5 cm. Soil to the 5-cm depth is retained as the surface sample. Inside the “large hole,” a "smaller hole" is dug to the 15-cm depth; soil from that hole is retained as the 5- to 15-cm section of the profile. 30 The intention of the large and small holes appears to be an avoidance of cross~contamination. Eberline Instrument Co. (1974) reported on soil sample collection for Project Samples of 100 em? x 1.25-cm deep were collected Wagon Wheel in western Wyoming. Elements of at the surface, at the 7.6-cm depth, and at the 15.2-cm depth. interest were plutonium and uranium; however, the sampling method was not given. Fix (1975) cited sampling of the soil surface at the Hanford, Washington, Reservation for the determination of plutonium and uranium content in a program related to the environmental status and potential buildup of radioisotopes. Five plugs of 10 cm diam and 2.5 cm deep were collected from a 10 m* area and composited. The method is similar to that of HASL for obtaining surface soil samples (Alexander et al., 1960). Nyhan et al. (1976) have reported on the use of a hand-driven core sampler for The obtaining soii samples to various depths from Trinity Site in New Mexico. purpose of the investigation was to determine 239:240p4 distributions in those entire the soils. The coring tool was a sharpened plastic tube that retained sample. The tube was cut into sections for profile analysis. The problem of smearing, as discussed by Fowler above, was not treated. Krey et al, (1976) have taken samples for plutonium at the Rocky Flats complex Briefly, the mission was to provide using both a template and a coring method. greater detail (relative to earlier sampling efforts) in the plutonium concentrations in soil in and around the Rocky Flats complex, and to relate plutonium concentrations in air to the local soil contamination on a per unit surface Sampling sites were selected to provide an estimate of the areal area basis, distribution of the surface plutonium surrounding each of the air particulate sampling stations, as a measure of the plutonium avallable for reentrainment. The coring and template methods cannot be compared directly since the sampling Reproduci-~ sites were different, ranging from about 1 to 3 km from the plant. bility of aliquots taken by the core method was tested and a range of 1% ta A similar comparison of reproduci~ 30% was determined for the data presented, For the template method, a bility for the template method was not made. 1000-cm2 area was outlined with an aluminum template and the soil removed with Soils were stony; problems, if Flat chisels and scoops to a depth of 5 cm. encountered, were not detailed. Carrigan and Pickering (1967) used a Swedish Foil Sampler to obtain bottom sediments in the Clinch River for measurement of fission products originating Although the at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory complex in Tennessee. Swedish Foil Sampler was designed for coring bottom sediments, its use is discussed here because of the unique design, a design that could reduce the Narrow, thin steel foils are degree of cross-contamination of core samples. attached to a piston and drawn up the inside of the 6.3-cm diam coring tool as The core barre] is thus progressively lined it is pressed into the sediments. and smearing is greatly reduced or eliminated. 31