RCRA Waste Sampling Draft Technical Guidance - …

1 United StatesSolid Waste andEPA530-D-02-002 Environmental ProtectionEmergency ResponseAugust 2002 Agency(5305W) of Solid WasteRCRA Waste SamplingDraft Technical GuidancePlanning, Implementation,and AssessmentEPA530-D-02-002 August 2002 RCRA Waste SamplingDraft Technical GuidancePlanning, Implementation,and AssessmentOffice of Solid Environmental Protection AgencyWashington, DC 20460iDISCLAIMERThe United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste (EPA or theAgency) has prepared this Draft document to provide Guidance to project planners, fieldpersonnel, data users, and other interested parties regarding Sampling for the evaluation ofsolid Waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA does not make any warranty or representation, expressed or implied, with respect to theaccuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information contained in this report.

2 EPA doesnot assume any liability with respect to the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of, anyinformation, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report. Reference to trade namesor specific commercial products, commodities, or services in this report does not represent orconstitute an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by EPA of the specific commercialproduct, commodity, or service. In addition, the policies set out in this document are not finalAgency action, but are intended solely as Guidance . They are not intended, nor can they berelied upon, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States. EPA officials may decide to follow the Guidance provided in this document, or to act at variancewith the Guidance , based on an analysis of specific site or facility circumstances. The Agencyalso reserves the right to change this Guidance at any time without public of this document was funded, wholly or in part, by the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency ( EPA) under Contract No.

3 68-W6-0068 and 68-W-00-122. It has been reviewed by EPA and approved for publication. It was developed under thedirection of Mr. Oliver M. Fordham, Office of Solid Waste (OSW) and Kim Kirkland (OSW) incollaboration with Dr. Brian A. Schumacher, Office of Research and Development (ORD). Thisdocument was prepared by Mr. Robert B. Stewart, Science Applications InternationalCorporation (SAIC). Additional writers included Dr. Kirk Cameron (MacStat Consulting, Ltd.),Dr. Larry P. Jackson (Environmental Quality Management), Dr. John Maney (EnvironmentalMeasurements Assessment Co.), Ms. Jennifer Bramlett (SAIC), and Mr. Oliver M. Fordham( EPA).EPA gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Technical reviewers involved in this effort,including the EPA Program OfficesDeana Crumbling, TIOEvan Englund, ORDG eorge Flatman, ORDJoan Fisk, OERRD avid Friedman, ORDC hris Gaines, OWGail Hansen, OSWB arnes Johnson, OSWJoe Lowry, NEICJohn Nocerino, ORDB rian A.

4 Schumacher, ORDJim Thompson, OECAJeff Van Ee, ORDBrad Venner, NEICJohn Warren, EPA RegionsDan Granz, Region IBill Cosgrove, Region IVMike Neill, Region IVJudy Sophianopoulos, Region IVBrian Freeman, Region VGene Keepper, Region VIGregory Lyssy, Region VIBill Gallagher, Region VI Deanna Lacy, Region VIMaria Martinez, Region VIWalt Helmick, Region VICharles Ritchey, Region VITerry Sykes, Region VIStephanie Doolan, Region VIID edriel Newsome, Region VIITina Diebold, Region VIIIMike Gansecki, Region VIIIR oberta Hedeen, Region XMary Queitzsch, Region XASTM Subcommittee D-34 Brian M. Anderson, SCA ServicesEric Chai, ShellAlan B. Crockett, INELJim Frampton, CA DTSCS usan Gagner, LLNLAlan Hewitt, CRRELL arry Jackson, EQMJohn Maney, EMAO ther OrganizationsJeffrey Farrar, Bureau of ReclamationJeff Myers, Westinghouse SMSRock Vitale, Environmental StandardsAnn Strahl, Texas Will I Find in This Guidance Document?

5 Can Use This Guidance Document?.. This Guidance Document Replace Other Guidance ?.. Is This Document Organized?.. 32 SUMMARY OF RCRA REGULATORY DRIVERS FOR Waste Sampling For Regulatory Making a Hazardous Waste Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Other RCRA Regulations and Programs That May Require Samplingand Enforcement Sampling and 103 FUNDAMENTAL STATISTICAL , Samples, and Populations and Decision Samples and Distributions .. of Central Tendency, Variability, and Relative Measures of Central Measures of Measures of Relative and Sample Analysis Results to Classify a Waste or to Determine Its StatusUnder Using an Average To Determine Whether a Waste or Media Meets theApplicable Using a Proportion or Percentile To Determine Whether a Waste orMedia Meets an Applicable a Confidence Limit on a Percentile to Classify a Wasteor a Simple Exceedance Rule Method To Classifya Comparing Two Estimating Spatial Patterns.

6 294 PLANNING YOUR PROJECT USING THE DQO 1: State the Problem .. Identify Members of the Planning Identify the Primary Decision Develop a Concise Description of the 2: Identify the Identify the Principal Study Define the Alternative Actions That Could Result from Resolution of thePrincipal Study Question .. Develop a Decision Statement .. Organize Multiple 3: Identify Inputs to the Identify the Information Determine the Sources of Information .. Identify Information Needed To Establish the Action Confirm That Sampling and Analytical Methods Exist That Can Providethe Required Environmental 4: Define the Study Define the Target Population of Define the Spatial Define the Temporal Boundary of the Identify Any Practical Constraints on Data Define the Scale of Decision Making.

7 5: Develop a Decision Rule .. Specify the Parameter of Interest .. Specify the Action Level for the Study .. Develop a Decision Rule .. 6: Specify Limits on Decision Errors .. Determine the Possible Range on the Parameter of Identify the Decision Errors and Choose the Null Specify a Range of Possible Parameter Values Where theConsequences of a False Acceptance Decision Error are RelativelyMinor (Gray Region) .. Specify an Acceptable Probability of Making a Decision of the First Six Steps of the DQO Process .. 485 OPTIMIZING THE DESIGN FOR OBTAINING THE the Outputs of the First Six Steps of the DQO Process .. Data Collection Design Simple Random Stratified Random Systematic Ranked Set Sampling .. Sequential Authoritative Sampling .. Sampling .. Advantages and Limitations of Composite Basic Approach To Composite Sampling .

8 Composite Sampling Designs .. Random Composite Composite Practical Considerations for Composite Sampling .. Using Composite Sampling To Obtain a More Precise Estimate of theMean .. Using Composite Sampling To Locate Extreme Valuesor Hot Spots .. the Appropriate Number of Samples Needed To Estimate theMean .. Number of Samples to Estimate the Mean: Simple Random Sampling Number of Samples to Estimate the Mean: Stratified RandomSampling .. Number of Samples to Estimate the Mean: Systematic Number of Samples to Estimate the Mean: Composite the Appropriate Number of Samples to Estimate A Percentile Number of Samples To Test a Proportion: Simple Random orSystematic Number of Samples When Using a Simple Exceedance the Most Resource-Effective Design .. a QAPP or Project Measurement/Data Acquisition.

9 Assessment/Oversight .. Data Validation and Data Assessment .. 876 CONTROLLING VARIABILITY AND BIAS IN of Random Variability and Bias in of Sampling Types of Sampling Error .. and Segregation Delimitation Extraction The Concept of Sample Support .. Guidance for Reducing Sampling Determining the Optimal Mass of a Sample .. Obtaining the Correct Shape and Orientation of a of a Moving Stream of of a Stationary Batch of Selecting Sampling Devices That Minimize Sampling Performance Goals for Sampling Tools and Limitations of Common Special Considerations for Sampling Waste and Soils for VolatileOrganic 1017 IMPLEMENTATION: SELECTING EQUIPMENT AND Sampling Tools and Step 1: Identify the Waste Type or Medium to be Step 2: Identify the Site or Point of Sample and Sacks or , Point Source Discharges, or Sampling Bins, Roll-Off Boxes, or Collection and or Subsurface Step 3: Consider Device-Specific Factors.

10 Device-Specific Step 4: Select the Sampling Device .. Field Sampling Selecting Sample Containers .. Sample Preservation and Holding Documentation of Field Activities .. Field Quality Control Sample Identification and Chain-of-Custody Decontamination of Equipment and Health and Safety Sample Packaging and Sample Homogenization, Splitting, and Subsampling Techniques .. Homogenization Sample Splitting .. Subsampling .. Mixtures of Liquids and Soils and Solid 1368 ASSESSMENT: ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING Verification and Sampling Handling and Custody Analytical Assessment .. Data Data Validation (Evaluation).. Quality Assessment .. Review the DQOs and the Sampling Prepare Data for Statistical Conduct Preliminary Review of the Data and Check StatisticalAssumptions.