A health-based approach for sampling shallow soils at hazardous waste sites using the AALsoil contact criterion

Strategies for sampling shallow soils at hazardous waste sites are employed primarily to evaluate levels and distributions of contamination. The ensuing analyses of potential public health impacts are therefore dependent on the sampling design rather than having the sampling design based on the data needs for evaluating potential public health impacts of shallow soil contamination. We define a specific objective that guides the sampling of shallow soils. The sampling results can thereby be directly employed to evaluate potential public health impacts from direct contact exposures to shallow soil contamination.