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Work Plan—Site Sampling Page 17 West Weber Site-Stockton GPE Project 536.2 2.2 Quality Assurance/Quality Control The U.S. EPA has defined quality assurance (QA) as a"total integrated program for assuring the reliability of monitoring and measurement data". Quality control (QC) is "the routine application of procedures for obtaining prescribed standards of performance in monitoring and measurement process". 2.2.1 Field QA/QC To assure an adequate level of cleanliness and prevent cross-contamination of sample material, sampling equipment must be cleaned before and between uses. Actual sample containers will be new to assure cleanliness. The Geoprobe sample, rods, and other re-usable equipment that comes in direct contact with sampling materials will be steam cleaned or washed using a non-phosphate detergent after every use and rinsed with de-ionized water. New nitrile gloves will be used when handling sample materials and the gloves will be replaced for each sample. To assure an adequate level of confidence in the sample collection procedures and laboratory extraction and analytical procedures, a suite of blank and duplicate samples will be collected for testing. Travel (or trip) blanks are sample containers of analyte-free media, usually water, taken prior to traveling to the sampling site and returned to the laboratory with the environmental samples. These QC samples measure contamination from the air and/or cross-contamination from other samples transported and stored together. Equipment blanks are created in the field by passing analyte-free water through reusable de-contaminated sample equipment such as the soil sampler and the Geo-Probe check valve and slotted tubing. A split sample is a sample, which has been thoroughly blended in the laboratory and split between two containers. This technique is used to demonstrate that the laboratory procedures are consistent and yield comparable results. Upon collection, samples and blanks will be placed in a cooler for transport to the analytical laboratory. The samples will not be shipped, but rather will be delivered directly to the laboratory by the Geo-Phase Environmental, Inc. person who collects the samples. To prevent cross-contamination during transport, samples will be placed in a bag to prevent possible contamination within the cooler. Fragile glass containers will be placed in bubble- wrap or foam containers to prevent breakage during transport. Each cooler will contain a temperature blank to demonstrate that the temperature has been reduced adequately to minimize evaporation of volatile compounds from samples. 2937 Veneman Avenue, Suite B240 Geo-Phase Environmental Inc. Phone: (209)569-0293 Modesto, Ca 95356 Fax: (209)569-0295