A sampling method for preventing cross contamination of soil samples obtained from intact cores

A subsurface soil sampling method was developed to prevent cross contamination of adjacent soil core samples. This method is useful for conducting remedial investigations of chemically contaminated sites. The sampling device consisted of a split steel tube fitted with a hardened steel cutting shoe and is capable of extracting an intact core 13 cm in diameter to a depth of 1.5 m. A method to prevent chemical cross-contamination was developed and validated using Rhodamine B as a surrogate organic chemical contaminant. Results from validation tests show that contaminant concentrations in soil samples obtained by this method are a result of environmental processes and not an artifact of the sampling method.