ISO 18400-301:2023

Overview

ISO 18400-301:2023 - Soil quality - Sampling - Part 301 provides requirements and guidance for soil sampling and on-site semi-quantitative determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during field investigations. The standard focuses on methods not explicitly covered in other parts of the ISO 18400 series and addresses pre‑sampling planning, drilling and sampling techniques, on-site instrumental measurements, and sample conservation, packaging and transport to the laboratory.

Keywords: ISO 18400-301:2023, soil sampling, VOCs, field investigations, semi-quantitative measurement, photoionization detector

Key technical topics and requirements

• Sampling strategy & planning
  • Guidance on selecting an appropriate sampling strategy and defining a sampling plan for VOC investigations.
• Behavior of VOCs in soil
  • Consideration of physical, chemical and biological processes that affect VOC distribution between solid, liquid and vapor phases.
• Drilling techniques
  • Selection and applicability of drilling methods (e.g., windowless core samplers, window core samplers, sonic/rota-sonic) with discussion of limitations for VOC preservation.
• Soil sampling techniques
  • In-situ and ex-situ approaches, including cutting cylinders, coring devices, vials pre-filled with methanol and sealed containers - with advantages and limitations.
• On-site semi-quantitative measurements
  • Use of portable instruments (for worker safety and semi-quantitative screening), types of devices and constraints (see Annex B and protocol for photo‑ionization detectors in Annex C).
• Sample handling, storage and transport
  • Recommendations to minimize VOC loss (conservation, packaging, transport and delivery to laboratories).
• Quality assurance and reporting
  • QA/QC, data quality evaluation, and requirements for recording and reporting field activities and semi-quantitative results.
• Scope exclusions
  • Does not cover direct quantitative field laboratory analysis, soil gas quality investigations (ISO 18400-204), safety risk assessment or laboratory analytical procedures.

Practical applications and users

ISO 18400-301:2023 is intended for:

• Environmental consultants and field technicians conducting site assessments for VOC contamination
• Project leaders and site managers planning sampling campaigns
• Remediation contractors designing sampling protocols
• Regulatory authorities and risk assessors reviewing field data
• Laboratories receiving and interpreting VOC field samples

Practical uses include screening and mapping VOC hotspots, choosing sampling devices to reduce volatile losses, and ensuring defensible semi‑quantitative field measurements that guide further quantitative laboratory testing.

Related standards

• ISO 18400 series (general soil sampling standards)
• ISO 18400-204 (soil gas quality - out of scope here)
• Complementary analytical standards: ISO 15009, ISO 16558-1, ISO 22155

For teams preparing VOC field investigations, ISO 18400-301:2023 offers practical, standards-based guidance to improve representativeness and reduce uncertainty in VOC sampling and on-site screening.