Influence of pre-treatment step on PAHs analyses in contaminated soils

Laurence Belkessam (1) , Paul Lecomte (2) , Véronique Milon (1) , Agnès Laboudigue (1)

1 CNRSSP - Centre National de Recherche sur les Sites et Sols Pollués (CNRSSP)
2 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)

There is no specific standardization for the pre-treatment of a soil sample for PAHs analyses. The ISO/FDIS 14507 method for soil quality gives a guidance for sample pre-treatment before measurement of organic contaminants in soil. It refers to cryogenic crushing which is not so easy to carry out. So, analysts lead to develop in house methods which can be very different from a laboratory to another and can involve deviations in the pollution quantification. This study has explored different ways of drying, grinding and sieving in order to determine the influence of the soil sample handling on the measured pollutant concentration. It appears that the influence of pre-treatment depends on the soil nature and on the PAHs distribution. As a conclusion, it is advised “light” drying ways like air drying or drying at 40 °C in a drying oven instead of more “drastic” ways (freeze-drying, cryogenic crushing) which can induce some losses. Crushing and sieving are also recommended for more reproducible measures.

Mots clés: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Contaminated soils; Soil preparation; Drying; Measure; Reproducibility

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

Laurence Belkessam, Paul Lecomte, Véronique Milon, Agnès Laboudigue. Influence of pre-treatment step on PAHs analyses in contaminated soils. Chemosphere, 2005, 58 (3), pp.321-328. ⟨10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.07.040⟩. ⟨hal-03758335⟩