BS EN ISO 19258:2018,Soil quality – Guidance on the determination of background values.BS EN ISO 19258:2018 pdf free download here.
BS EN ISO 19258:2018 gives guidelines for the principles and main methods for the determination of background values for inorganic and organic substances in soils at a local/regional scale. The site scale is excluded.
It gives guidelines for sampling and data processing strategies. It identifies methods for sampling and analysis.
BS EN ISO 19258:2018 does not apply to the determination of background values for groundwater and sediments.
2 Normative references
ISO 11074, Soil quality- Vocabulary
Soils retain the evidence of their past history, including impacts due to natural events or human activities. Chemical impacts related to human activities can be detected in soils all over the world, even in regions far from any source of contamination. For this reason, the determination of background values of inorganic and organic substances in soils consists of a pedo-geochemical fraction and an anthropogenic fraction. The ratio of these fractions varies widely depending on the type of substances, the type of soil and land use, and the kind and extent of external impacts.
A variety of different objectives can be identified for the determination of background values of inorganic and/or organic substances in soils. The objectives themselves provide insufficient information to define the technical programme that will produce the desired background values. Thus, a number of technical approaches should be defined, which together form the basis of the technical programme.