ASTM_D_3974_-_09_2015.pdf

Designation:D397409(Reapproved 2015)Standard Practices forExtraction of Trace Elements from Sediments1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D3974;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 These practices describe the partial extraction of soils,bottom sediments,suspended sediments,and waterborne ma-terials to determine the extractable concentrations of certaintrace elements.1.1.1 Practice A is capable of extracting concentrations ofaluminum,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 bedetermined using this practice.This extraction is the morevigorous and more complicated of the two.1.1.2 Practice B is capable of extracting concentrations ofaluminum,cadmium,chromium,cobalt,copper,iron,lead,manganese,nickel,and zinc from the preceding materials.Other metals may be determined using this practice.Thisextraction is less vigorous and less complicated than PracticeA.1.2 These practices describe three means of preparingsamples prior to digestion:1.2.1 Freeze-drying.1.2.2 Air-drying at room temperature.1.2.3 Accelerated air-drying,for example,95C.1.3 The detection limit and linear concentration range ofeach procedure for each element is dependent on the atomicabsorption spectrophotometric or other technique employedand may be found in the manual accompanying the instrumentused.Also see various ASTM test methods for determiningspecific metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometrictechniques.1.3.1 The sensitivity of the practice can be adjusted byvarying the sample size(14.2)or the dilution of the sample(14.6),or both.1.4 Extractable trace element analysis provides more infor-mation than total metal analysis for the detection of pollutants,since absorption,complexation,and precipitation are the meth-ods by which metals from polluted waters are retained insediments.1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2D887 Practices for Sampling Water-Formed DepositsD1129 Terminology Relating to WaterD1193 Specification for Reagent Water3.Terminology3.1 Refer to Terminology D1129.4.Summary of Practices4.1 The chemical portion of both practices involves aciddigestion to disassociate the elements complexed in precipi-tated hydroxides,carbonates,sulfides,oxides,and organicmaterials.Surface but not interstitially bound elements will bedesorbed in the case of clay mineral particulates.The silicatelattices of the minerals are not appreciably attacked(1-5).34.2 These practices provide samples suitable for analysisusing flame or flameless atomic-absorption spectrophotometry,or other instrumental or colorimetric procedures.5.Significance and Use5.1 Industrialized and urban areas have been found todeposit a number of toxic elements into environments wherethose elements were previously either not present or were1These practices are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D19 on Waterand are the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D19.07 on Sediments,Geomorphology,and Open-Channel Flow.Current edition approved Jan.1,2015.Published January 2015.Originallyapproved in 1981.Last previous edition approved in 2009 as D3974 09.DOI:10.1520/D3974-09R15.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the references at the end of thesepractices.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 found in trace amounts.Consequently,it is important to be ableto measure the concentration of these pollution-depositedelements to properly study pollution effects.5.2 This procedure is concerned with the pollution-relatedtrace elements that are described in 4.1 rather than thoseelements incorporated in the silicate lattices of the mineralsfrom which the sediments were derived.These pollution-related trace elements are released into the water and read-sorbed by the sediments with changes in general water quality,pH in particular.These elements are a serious source ofpollution.The elements locked in the silicate lattices are notreadily available in the biosph