Suomen ympäristökeskus

 

This document specifies a method for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) in water samples containing suspended solids (SS) in the range of 10 mg/l to 500 mg/l. The method includes the determination of particulate organic carbon using combined ultrasonic and alkaline extraction (CUAL) pretreatment and quantification by the difference between total carbon (TC) and total inorganic carbon (TIC). Typical matrices include wastewater, stormwater, leachates, and surface water.

 

This document specifies conditions for the determination of 90Sr and 89Sr activity concentration in samples of environmental water using liquid scintillation counting (LSC) or proportional counting (PC). The method is applicable to test samples of drinking water, rainwater, surface and ground water, marine water, as well as cooling water, industrial water, domestic, and industrial wastewater after proper sampling and handling, and test sample preparation. Filtration of the test sample and a chemical separation are required to separate and purify strontium from a test portion of the sample. The detection limit depends on the sample volume, the instrument used, the sample count time, the background count rate, the detection efficiency and the chemical yield. The method described in this document, using currently available LSC counters, has a detection limit of approximately 10 mBq l-1 and 2 mBq l-1 for 89Sr and 90Sr, respectively, which is lower than the WHO criteria for safe consumption of drinking water (100 Bq·l-1 for 89Sr and 10 Bq·l-1 for 90Sr)[3]. These values can be achieved with a counting time of 1 000 min for a sample volume of 2 l. The methods described in this document are applicable in the event of an emergency situation. When fallout occurs following a nuclear accident, the contribution of 89Sr to the total amount of radioactive strontium is not negligible. This document provides test methods to determine the activity concentration of 90Sr in presence of 89Sr. The analysis of 90Sr and 89Sr adsorbed to suspended matter is not covered by this method. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure the validity of this test method selected for the water samples tested.

 

This document specifies the sampling of urban and industrial waste water, i.e. the design of sampling programmes and techniques for the collection of samples. This document covers waste water in all its forms, i.e. industrial waste water, radioactive waste water, cooling water, raw and treated urban waste water. This document deals with various sampling techniques used and the rules to be applied to ensure the samples are representative. This document does not cover sampling of accidental spillages, although the methods described in certain cases can also be applicable to spillages. This document is not applicable to sampling of microplastics in waste waters. Appropriate guidance is given in ISO 5667-27[1].

 

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 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 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 document defines terms used in the field of soil quality.