ASTM D6009-96(2001)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
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Designation: D 6009 – 96 (Reapproved 2001)
Standard Guide for
Sampling Waste Piles
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 6009; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope D 5518 Guide for Acquisition of File Aerial Photography
and Imagery for Establishing Historic Site-Use and Surfi-
1.1 This guide provides guidance for obtaining representa-
cial Conditions
tive samples from waste piles. Guidance is provided for site
D 5730 Guide to Site Characterization for Environmental
evaluation, sampling design, selection of equipment, and data
Purposes with Emphasis on Soil, Rock, the Vadose Zone
interpretation.
and Ground Water
1.2 Waste piles include areas used primarily for waste
storage or disposal, including above-grade dry land disposal
3. Terminology
units. This guide can be applied to sampling municipal waste
3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
piles.
3.1.1 hot spots—strata that contain high concentrations of
1.3 This guide addresses how the choice of sampling design
the characteristic of interest and are relatively small in size
and sampling methods depends on specific features of the pile.
when compared with the total size of the materials being
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the
sampled.
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
3.1.2 representative sample—a sample collected such that it
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
reflects one or more characteristics of interest (as defined by
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
the project objectives) of the population from which it was
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
collected.
2. Referenced Documents 3.1.2.1 Discussion—Arepresentativesamplecanbeasingle
sample, a set of samples, or one or more composite samples.
2.1 ASTM Standards:
3.1.3 waste pile—unconfined storage of solid materials in
D 1452 Practice for Soil Investigation and Sampling by
an area of distinct boundaries, above grade and usually
Auger Borings
uncovered. This includes the following:
D 1586 Test Method for Penetration Test and Split-Barrel
3.1.3.1 chemical manufacturing waste pile—a pile consist-
Sampling of Soils
ing primarily of discarded chemical products (whether market-
D 1587 Practice for Thin-Walled Tube Geotechnical Sam-
ableornot),by-products,radioactivewastes,orusedorunused
pling of Soils
feedstocks.
D 4547 Practice for Sampling Waste and Soils for Volatile
3.1.3.2 scrap metal or junk pile—a pile consisting primarily
Organics
of scrap metal or discarded durable goods such as appliances,
D 4687 Guide for General Planning of Waste Sampling
automobiles, auto parts, or batteries.
D 4700 Guide for Soil Sampling from the Vadose Zone
3.1.3.3 trash pile—a pile of waste materials from municipal
D 4823 Guide for Core-Sampling Submerged, Unconsoli-
sources, consisting primarily of paper, garbage, or discarded
dated Sediments
nondurable goods that contain or have contained hazardous
D 5088 Practice for Decontamination of Field Equipment
substances. It does not include waste destined for recyclers.
Used at Nonradioactive Sites
D 5314 Guide for Soil Gas Monitoring in the Vadose Zone
4. Significance and Use
D 5451 Practice for Sampling Using a Trier Sampler
4.1 This guide is intended to provide guidance for sampling
waste piles. It can be used to obtain samples for waste
characterization related to use, treatment, or disposal; to
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D34 on Waste
monitor an active pile; to prepare for closure of the waste pile;
Management and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D34.01.01 on
or to investigate the contents of an abandoned pile.
Planning for Sampling.
Current edition approved Oct. 10, 1996. Published December 1996.
4.2 Techniques used to sample include both in-place evalu-
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
ations of the pile and physically removing a sample. In-place
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
evaluations include techniques such as remote sensing, on-site
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
the ASTM website. gas analysis, and permeability.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
D 6009 – 96 (2001)
4.3 Sampling strategy for waste piles is dependent on the practices for waste piles is aerial imagery. Aerial photographs
following: are widely available and may be used to determine the history
4.3.1 Project objectives including acceptable levels of error of a waste pile, sources of waste, and the presence and
when making decisions; distribution of different strata. Satellite imagery could be used
4.3.2 Physical characteristics of the pile, such as its size and for larger waste piles.
configuration, access to all parts of it, and the stability of the 5.2.1 Thedateofgenerationcouldbeimportantwithrespect
pile;
to the types of processes that generated the waste, the charac-
4.3.3 Process that generated the waste and the waste char- teristics of the waste, the distribution of the constituents, and
acteristics, such as hazardous chemical or physical properties,
regulatory concerns.
whetherthewasteconsistsofsludges,drypowdersorgranules,
5.2.2 The type of process that generated the waste will
and the heterogeneity of the wastes;
determine the types of constituents that may be present in the
4.3.4 History of the pile, including dates of generation,
waste pile. Chemical variability will influence the number of
methods of handling and transport, and current management
samples that are required to characterize the waste pile unless
methods;
a directed (biased) sampling approach is acceptable.
4.3.5 Regulatory considerations, such as regulatory classi-
5.2.3 The delivery method of the material to the waste pile
fication and characterization data;
could influence the concentrations of the constituents, affect
4.3.6 Limits and bias of sampling methods, including bias
the overall shape of the pile, or create physical dissimilarity
that may be introduced by waste heterogeneity, sampling
withinthewastepilethroughsortingbyparticlesizeordensity.
design, and sampling equipment.
5.2.4 If the pile is under current management and use, the
4.4 Itisrecommendedthatthisguidebeusedinconjunction
variability in constituent types and concentrations may be
with Guide D 4687, which addresses sampling design, quality
affected. Current management activities also may influence the
assurance, general sampling considerations, preservation and
regulatory status of the waste pile.
containerization, cleaning equipment, packaging, and chain of
5.2.5 Regulatory considerations will typically focus on
custody.
waste identification questions, in other words is the material a
4.5 A case history of the investigation of a waste pile is
solid waste that should be regulated and managed as a
included in Appendix X1.
hazardous waste (1). This may involve a limited, directed
sampling approach, particularly if a regulatory agency is
5. Site Evaluation
conducting the investigation.Amore comprehensive sampling
5.1 Site evaluations are performed to assist in designing the design may be required to determine if the waste classifies as
most appropriate sampling strategy.An evaluation may consist
hazardous. Remediation efforts and questions regarding per-
of on-site surveys and inspections, as well as a review of mitsmayfocusoncharacterizingtheentirepile,possiblyasthe
historical data. Nonintrusive geophysical and remote sensing
removal of material is occurring. It should be noted that
methodsareparticularlyusefulatthisstageoftheinvestigation concentrations of contaminants near regulatory levels may
(see Guide D 5518). Table 1 summarizes the effects that
increase the number of samples required to meet the objectives
various factors associated with the waste pile, such as the of the investigation. These regulatory levels could be those
history of how the pile was generated, have upon the strategy
established to determine if a waste is hazardous, or “cleanup”
and design of the sampling plan. The strategic and design levels set for a removal or remediation.
considerations are discussed as well.
5.3 Physical Characteristics of Pile— Several physical
5.2 Generation History—The waste pile may have been
characteristics of the waste pile must be considered during the
createdoveranextendedtimeperiod.Aremotesensingmethod
site evaluation. Variability in size, shape, and stability of the
that is very useful in establishing historical management
pile affects access to it to obtain samples as well as safety
considerations. Physical variability will influence the number
of samples that are required to characterize the waste pile
TABLE 1 Strategy Factors
unless a directed (biased) sampling approach is considered to
Waste Pile Factors Strategic Considerations Design Considerations
beacceptable.Techniquesthatmightbeusedincluderesistivity
Generation history Date of generation Analysis required
and seismic refraction (for determining the depth of very large
Types of processes Location of samples
piles).
Characteristics by process
5.3.1 The size of the waste pile will influence the sampling
Delivery method
Current management
strategy in that increasing size is often accompanied by
Regulatory considerations
increased variability in the physical characteristics of the waste
Physical characteristics Physical variability of pile Number of samples
of pile: pile. The number of samples, however, that are needed to
– size Access Location of samples
characterizeawastepileadequatelywilltypicallybeafunction
– shape Safety Equipment selection
of the study objectives as well as the inherent variability of the
– stability
pile.
Waste characteristics Constituents present Number of samples
Constituent distribution Analysis required
Heterogeneity Location of samples
– physical variability Representative
samples
– chemical variability Equipment selection The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end of
this standard.
D 6009 – 96 (2001)
5.3.2 Theshapeofthewastepilecaninfluencethesampling equipment will bias against the collection of certain particles
strategy by limiting access to certain locations within the pile, sizes, and some equipment cannot penetrate the waste pile
adequately.
and if it is topologically complex it is difficult to lay out a
5.5.2 Equipment, use, and operation can introduce error
sampling grid. Also, a waste pile may extend vertically both
(bias) into the characterization of a waste pile. Sampling errors
above and below grade, making decisions regarding the depth
typically are caused when certain particle sizes are excluded,
of sample collection difficult.
when a segment of the waste pile is not sampled, or when a
5.3.3 The stability of the waste pile also can limit access to
location outside the pile is inadvertently sampled.
both the face and the interior of the pile. The use of certain
5.5.3 When stratification, layering, or solid phasing occurs
types of heavier sampling equipment also could be limited by
it may be necessary to obtain and analyze samples of each of
the ability of the pile to bear the weight of the equipment.
the distinct phases separately to minimize sampling bias. Care
5.4 Waste Characteristics:
should be taken when sampling stratified layers to minimize
5.4.1 The constituents could include inorganics, volatile
cross contamination. Proper decontamination procedures
organic compounds (VOCs), and semivolatile organic com-
should be used for all sampling equipment (see Practice
pounds (including pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls
D 5088).
(PCBs)) (see Practice D 4547). Speciality analyses may be 5.5.4 Statistical bias includes situations where the data are
warranted, such as leaching tests or analyses for dioxin/furans
not normally distributed or when the sampling strategy does
or explosive compounds. Soil gas sampling is a minimally not allow the potential for every portion of the pile to be
intrusive technique that may detect the presence and distribu- sampled.
tion of volatile organic compounds in soils and in porous,
6. Sampling Strategy
unconsolidated materials.Appropriate applications for soil gas
6.1 Developing a strategy for sampling a waste pile requires
monitoring are identified in Guide D 5314.
a thorough examination of the site evaluation factors listed in
5.4.2 The distribution of constituents in the waste pile could
Section 5. The location and frequency of sampling (number of
be influenced by changes in the manufacturing process which
samples) should be outlined clearly in the sampling plan, as
resulted in changes in the composition of the waste; the length
well as provisions for the use of special sampling equipment,
of time the material has remained in the pile (particularly for
access of heavy equipment to all areas of the pile, if necessary,
VOCs); the mode of delivery of the waste materials to the pile;
and so forth.
and management practices, such as mixing together wastes
6.1.1 Representative Sampling—The collection of a repre-
from more than one process.
sentative set of samples from a waste pile typically will be
5.4.3 Physical and chemical variabilities would include
complicated by the presence of a number of the site evaluation
variabilityinthechemicalcharacteristicsofthematerialwithin
factors (2,3).
thepile,aswellasvariabilityinparticlesize,density,hardness,
6.1.2 Heterogeneous Wastes—Waste piles may be homoge-
whether brittle or flexible, moisture content, consolidated, or
neous, for applied purposes, or may be quite heterogeneous in
unconsolidated. The variability may be random or found as
particle size and contaminant distribution. If the particle sizes
strata of materials having different properties or containing
of the material in the waste pile and the distribution of
different types or concentrations of constituents.
contaminants are known, or can be estimated, then less
sampling may be necessary to define the properties of interest
5.4.3.1 Geophysicalsurveymethodsmaybeusedonpilesto
in the waste pile.An estimate of the variability in contaminant
estimate physical homogeneity, which may or may not be
distribution may be based on process knowledge or determined
related to chemical homogeneity, and to detect buried objects,
by preliminary sampling (4). The more heterogeneous the
bo
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