1.1These practices describe the partial extraction of soils, bottom sediments, suspended sediments, and waterborne materials to determine the extractable concentrations of certain trace elements.

1.1.1Practice Ais capable of extracting concentrations of aluminum, boron, barium, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, potassium, sodium, strontium, vanadium, and zinc from the preceding materials. Other metals may be determined using this practice. This extraction is the more vigorous and more complicated of the two.

1.1.2Practice Bis capable of extracting concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc from the preceding materials. Other metals may be determined using this practice. This extraction is less vigorous and less complicated than Practice A.

1.2These practices describe three means of preparing samples prior to digestion:

1.2.1Freeze-drying.

1.2.2Air-drying at room temperature.

1.2.3Accelerated air-drying, for example, 95 °C.

1.3The detection limit and linear concentration range of each procedure for each element is dependent on the atomic absorption spectrophotometric or other technique employed and may be found in the manual accompanying the instrument used. Also see various ASTM test methods for determining specific metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometric techniques.

1.3.1The sensitivity of the practice can be adjusted by varying the sample size (14.2) or the dilution of the sample (14.6), or both.

1.4Extractable trace element analysis provides more information than total metal analysis for the detection of pollutants, since absorption, complexation, and precipitation are the methods by which metals from polluted waters are retained in sediments.

1.5The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.6This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.