Characterization of the constitutional heterogeneity of contaminated soils and its influence on sampling uncertainty

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Unbiased and reproducible soil sampling and concentration measurements are key to the representativeness of environmental site assessment. Sample representativeness is required in the majority of guidance and protocols on soil sampling for analysis, but it is never given a proper description and quantitative definition, often leading to incorrect and haphazard grab sampling. Such unrepresentative soil sampling is a significant source of uncertainty in site remediation projects.The Theory of sampling or Sampling Theory and Practice (STP) defines representativeness and uncertainty and provides quantitative and methodological principles to control them. Despite its significant potential for improving knowledge on the fundamentals and practice of contaminated soil sampling, the STP has only been marginally applied for this purpose and to varying degrees of success. Most shortcomings involve an overestimation of uncertainty and sample size, which may be due to the practical mathematical implementation of CH which is not appropriate for contaminated soils.The expected outcome of this research will be significant advances of knowledge on the CH of contaminated soils and a new validate theoretical framework for designing representative contaminated soil sampling procedures and analysing the uncertainty of actual sampling methods. This will the cost effectiveness of remediation activities and reduce the risk of missed contamination. In an international annual market of $50 billion US, these outcomes can also be significant for the canadian remediation industry.