Sampling strategies for environmental risk assessments in a military context - a guidance

Authors:

  • Jan Sjöström
  • Christina Edlund
  • Rune Berglind
  • Håkan Wingfors
  • Annica Waleij
  • Ulf Qvarfort
  • Per Leffler
  • Åsa Scott Andersson
  • Lars Hägglund

Publish date: 2008-12-09

Report number: FOI-R--2497--SE

Pages: 54

Written in: Swedish

Keywords:

  • Sampling
  • strategies
  • environmental
  • risk
  • assessment
  • military
  • installations

Abstract

In order to assess the environmental risks of a polluted area and suggest appropriate remediation measures, good knowledge of the present pollutants, their hazards and spreading is vital. The conditions for transport of pollutants in soil and groundwater differ widely with soil type and are of fundamental importance in the risk assessment. Also, in order to answer the main questions emerging from the risk assessment procedure, sampling and analysis of soil, water, sediment and air is required. Since a sampling campaign, together with the following chemical analyses, shall describe the presence, transport, amounts and hazards of the pollutant, these parts (of the investigation) are of great importance for the final assessment and classification of environ-mental risk, and hence proposed measurements. In reality, the sampling is often the weakest link in the whole chain in an environment risk assessment. While much effort is focused on reducing errors in the chemical analysis, sampling seems to be the least studied element of environmental risk assessments. No analysis can ever compensate a poorly taken and unrepresentative sample. The aim of this report is to provide a generic description on how to perform environmental risk assessments for different types of military facilities, with special focus on sampling strategies and investigation methods. Typical pollution profiles for activities in different military facilities are presented and discussed. The report can be used as a sampling guide at for instance training fields, shooting ranges, harbours, air bases and, too, for the closing and withdrawal of areas and deployment in international missions etc. Furthermore, the report aims at supporting the Swedish Armed Forces in the termination of activities as well as during the quality assurance process when it comes to environmental risk assessments or acquisition of such investigations.