Workshop schedule

Below is the outline of a standard workshop. We also customize the content and duration for special requests. Apart from the scheduled workshops in Anchorage, we are holding workshops at company locations or field sites and in rural Alaska on request.

Standard 4-day workshop

Day 1 (environmental sampling, surface water & groundwater)
Introduction to Qualified Environmental Sampler
Environmental Sampler, requirements, laboratory testing (compliance/restoration)
QA/QC protocol, site assessment, data quality objectives (sampling strategy, sampling design), health and safety plan.

Water in the environment.
Water cycle, water in permafrost environments, watersheds and aquifers;
Sources of water and contaminants, drinking water versus recreational water, water quality standards.

Introduction to surface water (streams and lakes).
Surface water characteristics, sampling strategies , sampling equipment and procedures.

Introduction to groundwater.
Groundwater aquifers and flow, sampling strategies for groundwater, sampling procedures and equipment (pump), safety

Sampling and field testing program.
Preparation for field sampling, establishing a field
sampling plan, proper planning, sample documentation and Chain of Custody (COC) procedures, sample packaging, handling and transportation.

Exercises: Selection of sampling container, QA/QC samples, preservation, filling out a COC document.

Day 2 (soil and permafrost)
Introduction to soil and permafrost soils
Introduction to soils in general and in the Arctic environments, permafrost
Physical and chemical properties, engineering properties, soil classification, soil sampling equipment.

Sampling strategies, methods of soil assessment
Contaminated (Hydrocarbons) site assessment and sampling, safety
Hazardous/non-hazardous, levels of contamination, soil collection container and preservation, storage, holding times, packing, and shipping. Field screening methods Photoionization detector (PID), Petroflag, and Gas Chromatograph.
Soil characteristics, color, grainsize, sample container packing and shipping.

Exercise: Selection of sampling container, preservation, QA/QC samples, developing a sampling plan.

Day 3 (Surface and Groundwater sampling)
Lab in classroom or outside:
Calibrating field monitoring equipment, creating sampling plan, gathering and packing of sampling equipment and container, COC documentation.

Field exercise I: Sample collection (surface water), testing of chemical and physical water characteristics (YSI, Hach kit) pH, conductivity, oxygen content, temperature, turbidity and other specific tests, sampling of surface water, sample preservation (filtration, acidification, and sampling without headspace), packaging, COC and shipping.

Field exercise II: Collecting of groundwater samples (VOCs, DRO, RRO, PAHs, metals), purging, sample collection, and monitoring standard parameter.
Packing of samples, COC preparation and shipping.

- Questions and discussion.

Day 4 (Soils)
Lab or outside:
Preparation for soil collection, planning of field sampling, packing of sampling equipment.

Field exercise I:
Soil excavation/sampling using shovel and Auger, soil description (grain size, color), sample collection (VOCs, DRO, RRO, metals and others) and preservation.
Determining basic soil properties such as grain size distribution. Determine grain size distribution by settling and sieving method and classify soil based on grain size, and color.

Field exercise II: Incremental sampling, homogenization sieving, and splitting.
Packing for shipment, creating a COC.

- Questions and discussion.

Certification