Williams Engineering Services offers Environmental Sampling Training, with emphasis on sampling at federal facilities undergoing environmental remediation.  Topics covered include:

 

Environmental sites and environmental samples. Importance of defensible samples. A review of sample types, including environmental quality control samples. Random vs authoritative vs systematic samples. Importance of contamination control in environmental sampling. Sampling equipment decontamination and most common mistakes. Environmental sample preservation.  Preservation and sample shipping.  Environmental sampling equipment and materials of construction. Stream sampling (including creeks, ponds, lakes, etc.). Sediment sampling. Leachate sampling. Groundwater sampling. Soil sampling. Media and scrap pile sampling. Decon pad setup, use, and common mistakes. Investigation derived waste.  Forming and properly mixing composite samples. Filling sample bottles, preparing sample labels, and preparing and applying COC seals. Preparing sample COCs. Field log book entries. Proper turn over of samples to analytical laboratory. Environmental sampling auditing. Case studies.

 Sampling personnel will become familiar with the technical aspects of environmental sampling and will understand the sampling process, including sampling process initiation by sample request/work package, sampling preparation activities, sampling activities, sampling documentation, and sample transfer to the analytical laboratory under chain of custody.  In addition to receiving classroom instruction, each attendee will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience by obtaining samples from environmental media (e.g., streams, sediment, soil) using the techniques presented during the classroom instruction.  Finally, each student will receive copies of relevant sampling resources and classroom presentation materials.  A sample of the classroom presentation material is available here; a listing of the sampling resources provided is available here.