Suomen ympäristökeskus

 

This document specifies a method for the gravimetric determination of soil water content as a volume fraction. The method is applicable to all types of non-swelling or non-shrinking soils where coring sleeves can be used for sampling. It is not applicable to soils where stones, tough roots or other factors prevent collection of soil cores. It is used as a reference method (e.g. the calibration of indirect methods for determination of water content). NOTE The determination of water content as a mass fraction is described in ISO 11465.

 

This document specifies a test method for the determination of gross beta activity concentration in non-saline waters. The method covers non-volatile radionuclides with maximum beta energies of approximately 0,3 MeV or higher. Measurement of low energy beta emitters (e.g. 3H, 228Ra, 210Pb, 14C, 35S and 241Pu) and some gaseous or volatile radionuclides (e.g. radon and radioiodine) might not be included in the gross beta quantification using the test method described in this document. This test method is applicable to the analysis of raw and drinking waters. The range of application depends on the amount of total soluble salts in the water and on the performance characteristics (background count rate and counting efficiency) of the counter used. It is the laboratory's responsibility to ensure the suitability of this method for the water samples tested.

 

 

This document provides the key principles for the analysis of microplastics in drinking water and water with low content of natural suspended solids using thermo-analytical methods. This document covers the determination of polymer types and the mass of microplastics in the sample. This document is not applicable for the determination of particle size, particle shape and particle numbers. This document is applicable for the detection of microplastics in drinking water and waters with low content of natural total suspended solids (TSS)11ISO 6107 or ISO 5667-27 (1 mg/l to 100 mg/l) or lower if they interfere with determination.. The described detection procedures are suitable for various types of samples. NOTE In cases where this document is used for the detection of microplastics in water with TSS contents higher than those defined here, laboratories commonly include additional quality assessment and control measures (including preparation) to evaluate whether the detection methods perform adequately for increased amounts of TSS. This document describes the detection of different types of polymers, [the most used ones in the industry and the most abundant ones in the environment being polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS), which are analysed by thermo-analytical methods]. Depending on the used thermo-analytic methods, additional further polymer can be detected, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) polyamides (PA), polyurethanes (PU), as well as signals from PS-co-polymers22 PS-co-polymers are polymers of styrene, acrylonitrile and butadiene (such as ABS). Signals from PS-co-polymers can be derivate from tire wear (including SBR) and can be detect with the methods as well, but elastomers are outside the scope of this document..

 

This document sets out key principles for the investigation of microplastics using thermo-analytical methods in water with low content of natural suspended solids. This document gives requirements for the standardisation of methods towards harmonized procedures for determination of microplastics contents.

 

This document provides standard procedures for the collection, handling and storage of soil for subsequent biological testing under aerobic conditions in the laboratory. It applies to the collection, handling and storage for assessing the effects of soil on microorganisms, invertebrates (e.g. survival, reproduction, growth, behaviour) and plants (e.g. development, growth). This document is not applicable to the handling of soil where anaerobic conditions need to be maintained throughout. This document describes how to minimize the effects of differences in temperature, water content, and availability of oxygen on aerobic processes as well as the fractionation of soil particles to facilitate reproducible laboratory determinations.[1][2] This document is mainly applicable to temperate soils. Soils collected from extreme climates (e.g. permafrost, tropical soils) can require special handling. NOTE This document does not provide standard procedures on the collection, handling and storage of soil organisms when assessing the structure and function of soil organism communities in the field. Such standard procedures are provided in the ISO 23611 series.

 

This document specifies a method for the determination of gross alpha and gross beta activity concentration for alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides using liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The method is applicable to all types of waters with a dry residue of less than 5 g/l and when no correction for colour quenching is necessary. Gross alpha and gross beta activity measurement is not intended to give an absolute determination of the activity concentration of all alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides in a test sample, but is a screening analysis to ensure particular reference levels of specific alpha and beta emitters have not been exceeded. This type of determination is also known as gross alpha and beta index. Gross alpha and beta analysis is not expected to be as accurate nor as precise as specific radionuclide analysis after radiochemical separations. The method covers non-volatile radionuclides below 80 °C, since some gaseous or volatile radionuclides (e.g. radon and radioiodine) can be lost during the source preparation. The method is applicable to test samples of drinking water, rain water, surface and ground water as well as cooling water, industrial water, domestic and industrial waste water after proper sampling and test sample preparation (filtration when necessary and taking into account the amount of dissolved material in the water). The method described in this document is applicable in the event of an emergency situation, because the results can be obtained in less than 4 h by directly measuring water test samples without any treatment. It is the laboratory's responsibility to ensure the suitability of this test method for the water samples tested.

 

This document describes a set of physiological parameters allowing the measurement of sublethal effects in higher plants exposed to soil pollutants and other stressors (e.g. drought, nutrient availability, heat stress). It is applicable to soils of unknown quality (e.g. from contaminated sites, amended soils or soils after remediation), either in situ or following laboratory exposure assays. This document specifies the methods for analysing variations in physiological responses and oxidative damage that can be indicative of stress symptoms in the leaves of higher plants, either monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous species.

 

This document describes a set of biochemical parameters allowing the measurement of sublethal effects in higher plants exposed to soil pollutants and other stressors (e.g. drought, nutrient availability, heat stress). This document is applicable to soils of unknown quality (e.g. from contaminated sites, amended soils or soils after remediation), following laboratory exposure assays. This document specifies methods for measuring antioxidant defence enzyme activities that indicate stress symptoms in the leaves of lettuce and higher plants, either monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous species.

 

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of mercury in digests of soil, treated biowaste and waste, obtained according to EN ISO 54321 (aqua regia digestion) or EN 16173 (nitric acid digestion) or EN 13656 (digestion with a hydrochloric, nitric and tetrafluoroboric or hydrofluoric acid mixture) using cold-vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). The lower working range limit is at least 0,03 mg/kg (drymatter basis) depending on digestion parameters.

 

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of mercury in aqua regia or nitric acid digests of sludge, treated biowaste and soil, obtained according to EN ISO 54321 or EN 13173 using cold- vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). The lower working range limit is at least 0,003 mg/kg (dry matter basis) depending on digestion parameters.

 

This document specifies two methods for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) in sludge, treated biowaste, soil and waste samples containing more than 0,1 % carbon in relation to the dry matter (dm). This document is validated for sludge, biowaste, soil, and waste (see also Annex A for the results of the validation).

 

Specifies a method for the determination of the total carbon content in soil after dry combustion. The organic carbon content is calculated from this content after correcting for carbonates present in the sample. If carbonates are removed beforehand, the organic carbon content is measured directly. Applicable to all types of air-dried soil samples.

 

This document specifies a basic method of determining the particle size distribution applicable to a wide range of mineral soil materials, including the mineral fraction of organic soils. It also offers procedures to deal with the less common soils mentioned in the introduction. This document has been developed largely for use in the field of environmental science, and its use in geotechnical investigations is something for which professional advice might be required. A major objective of this document is the determination of enough size fractions to enable the construction of a reliable particle-size-distribution curve. This document does not apply to the determination of the particle size distribution of the organic components of soil, i.e. the more or less fragile, partially decomposed, remains of plants and animals. It is also realized that the chemical pre-treatments and mechanical handling stages in this document could cause disintegration of weakly cohesive particles that, from field inspection, might be regarded as primary particles, even though such primary particles could be better described as aggregates. If such disintegration is undesirable, then this document is not used for the determination of the particle size distribution of such weakly cohesive materials.

 

This document specifies the general requirements for sampling, preservation, handling, transport and storage of all water samples for physicochemical, chemical, hydrobiological and microbiological analyses and determination of radiochemical analytes and activities. Guidance on the validation of storage times of water samples is provided in ISO/TS 5667-25. This document is not applicable to water samples intended for ecotoxicological assays, biological assays (which is specified in ISO 5667-16), passive sampling (which is specified in ISO 5667-23) and microplastics (which is specified in ISO 5667-27). This document is particularly appropriate when samples cannot be analysed on site and have to be transported to a laboratory for analysis.

 

This document specifies the measurement method for the determination of total activity concentration of uranium isotopes in non-saline waters by extraction and liquid scintillation counting. This method covers the measurement of soluble uranium isotopes in water in activity concentrations between approximately 2·10-3 Bq/kg and 10 Bq/kg when analysing a 1 l test sample volume with a 60 000 s counting time with a typical alpha LSC instrument. The ratio 234U/238U can also be determined. This method has not been tested for the measurement of other uranium isotopes.

 

This document specifies a chronic test method for evaluating the habitat function of soils and determining effects of soil contaminants and substances on the reproduction of Hypoaspis (Gaeolaelaps) aculeifer. This method is applicable to soils and soil materials of unknown quality, e.g. from contaminated sites, amended soils, soils after remediation, industrial, agricultural or other sites under concern and waste materials (e.g. dredged material, municipal sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, composed material, or manure, especially those for possible land disposal). This document provides information on how to use this method for testing samples (soils or substances) under temperate conditions. This document is not applicable to substances for which the air/soil partition coefficient is greater than one, or to substances with vapour pressure exceeding 300 Pa at 25 °C. NOTE The stability of the test substance cannot be ensured over the test period. No provision is made in the test method for monitoring the persistence of the substance under test.

 

This document specifies a chronic test method for evaluating the habitat function of soils and determining effects of soil contaminants and substances on the reproduction of Hypoaspis aculeifer by ? mainly ? alimentary uptake. This method is applicable to soils and soil materials of unknown quality, e.g. from contaminated sites, amended soils, soils after remediation, industrial, agricultural or other sites under concern and waste materials (e.g. dredged material, municipal sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, composed material, or manure, especially those for possible land disposal). The reproduction (= number of juveniles) is the measured parameter of the test. The test reflects the bioavailability of a mixture of contaminants in natural soils (contaminated site soils) to a species which represents a trophic level which is not covered by other ISO standards. This test is not intended to replace the earthworm (see ISO 11268-2) or Collembola (see ISO 11267) reproduction tests since this species belongs not only to a different trophic group but also a different taxonomic group (= mites; i.e. arachnids) than those used usually. Effects of substances are assessed using a standard soil, preferably a defined artificial soil substrate. For contaminated soils, the effects are determined in the soil to be tested and in a control soil. Depending on the objective of the study, the control and dilution substrate (dilution series of contaminated soil) are either an uncontaminated soil comparable to the soil to be tested (reference soil) or a standard soil (e.g. artificial soil). This document provides information on how to use this method for testing samples (soils or substances) under temperate conditions. This document is not applicable to substances for which the air/soil partition coefficient is greater than one, or to substances with vapour pressure exceeding 300 Pa at 25 °C. NOTE The stability of the test substance cannot be ensured over the test period. No provision is made in the test method for monitoring the persistence of the substance under test.

 

This document describes a gas chromatographic method for determination of 5 chlorophenols (2-chlorophenol; 2,4-dichlorophenol; 2,4,6-trichlorophenol; 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol; pentachlorophenol) in water samples. This method uses a liquid/solid extraction method using immersive solid phase extraction equipment. After sampling, retained organic compounds are released by thermal desorption (TD) and automatically transferred to a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) system for analysis. NOTE 1 Other chlorophenols not specified in the scope can also be analysed if the performance specifications of this method can be met and the user validates the changes of the procedure accordingly. NOTE 2 The method detection limits (MDLs) of each chlorophenol measured by this method are shown in Annex B. This method is applicable to the determination of chlorophenols in surface water, ground water and drinking water. The applicability of the method to other types of water can be validated by the user separately for each individual case.

 

This document specifies the general requirements for sampling, preservation, handling, transport and storage of all water samples for physicochemical, chemical, hydrobiological and microbiological analyses and determination of radiochemical analytes and activities. Guidance on the validation of storage times of water samples is provided in ISO/TS 5667-25 [2]. This document is not applicable to water samples intended for ecotoxicological assays, biological assays (which is specified in ISO 5667-16 [4]), passive sampling (which is specified in ISO 5667-23 [5]) and microplastics (which is specified in ISO 5667-27 [6]). This document is particularly appropriate when samples cannot be analysed on site and have to be transported to a laboratory for analysis.