Safety - Field Sampling: Principles and Practices in Environmental Analysis - page 93

materials to be handled will be needed to provide a safe working environment and to
have all potentially needed safety materials readily at hand.

TABLE 4.5 Standard Safety Equipment

Item Description

First aid kit Bandages (including liquid bandages), gauze pads, burn ointment, rubber gloves,

antiseptic, tape, and items to prevent exposure to bloodborne pathogens

Eyewash An eyewash station to provide 15-min flushing and portable eyewash bottles

Eye
protection

Safety glasses and goggles

Ear
protection

Noise-suppressing ear plugs—a minimum noise reduction provided by the ear
protector must be able to reduce noise to the ear to 85 decibels

Breathing Gas mask with assorted cartridges

Head
protection

Hard hat

Gloves Both work and rubber or chemical-resistant gloves

Water Enough water to allow for emergence washing of exposed body areas

Personal
monitors

Air monitors for exposure to fumes

Oxygen Compressed tank of oxygen

4.6.1. Do Not Sample Alone

Do not sample alone. No matter how safe a field looks, if you are not familiar with it it is
unsafe to sample alone. In addition to soft areas and unseen holes in the field there is the
danger of stumbling onto an area containing noxious fumes. Sampling or monitoring
wells can also often contain unpleasant surprises when uncovered. There is also the
possibility of encountering animals, such as poisonous snakes, which can be quite
dangerous. Sampling in pairs can be faster than sampling alone, and thus this does not
represent a large additional expense.
When additional samples are later taken from the same site at the same sampling
locations sampling alone may be acceptable. An open field with an unobstructed view of
the surroundings and no indication that the field was heavily contaminated might be such
a field. Even under these conditions, however, it is a good idea to have ready
communications available.

4.6.2. Goggles

Almost all surfaces of the body need to be covered during field sampling, and this is
particularly true of the eyes. Goggles that protect all around are preferred over visitor-