1.1This guide covers sampling equipment and procedures and “in the field” preservation, and it does not include well location, depth, well development, design and construction, screening, or analytical procedures that also have a significant bearing on sampling results.This guide is intended to assist a knowledgeable professional in the selection of equipment for obtaining representative samples from ground-water monitoring wells that are compatible with the formations being sampled, the site hydrogeology, and the end use of the data.

1.2This guide is only intended to provide a review of many of the most commonly used methods for collecting ground-water quality samples from monitoring wells and is not intended to serve as a ground-water monitoring plan for any specific application. Because of the large and ever increasing number of options available, no single guide can be viewed as comprehensive. The practitioner must make every effort to ensure that the methods used, whether or not they are addressed in this guide, are adequate to satisfy the monitoring objectives at each site.

1.3The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are provided for information only.

1.4This standard does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.