THE US DEPARTMENT-OF-ENERGY (DOE) SAMPLING AND ANALYTICAL-CHEMISTRY GUIDE - DOE METHODS FOR EVALUATING ENVIRONMENTAL AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SAMPLES

DOE Methods for Evaluating Environmental a,ld Waste Management Samples (DOE Methods) is a guidance/methods document to support sampling and analysis activities at DOE sites. DOE Methods is intended to supplemen t existing guidance documents (e.g., EPA's Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, SW-846), which generally apply to low-level or nonradioa ctive samples. DOE Methods targets the complexities of DOE radioactive mixed waste and environmental samples. The document contains quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), safety, sampling, organic analys is, inorganic analysis, and radioanalytical guidance as well as sampli ng and analytical methods. An addendum is distributed every six months (April and October) with updated guidance and additional methods. DOE Methods provides a vehicle for technology transfer within the environ mental restoration (ER) and waste management (WM) (collectively known as EM) community. As DOE Methods evolves, its usefulness and applicabi lity are anticipated to grow to meet the demands of the DOE/EM mission . At the present time, DOE Methods contains methods and guidance infor mation supplied by DOE sites. Because the EM activities in DOE are nor unique to the United States, the international environmental communit y could benefit from the information gathered for the DOE progam. This information could provide additional resources for their EM activitie s.