title: A soil sampling intercomparison exercise for the ALMERA network.
abstract: Soil sampling and analysis for radionuclides after an accidental or routine release is a key factor for the dose calculation to members of the public, and for the establishment of possible countermeasures. The IAEA organized for selected laboratories of the ALMERA (Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity) network a Soil Sampling Intercomparison Exercise (IAEA/SIE/01) with the objective of comparing soil sampling procedures used by different laboratories. The ALMERA network is a world-wide network of analytical laboratories located in IAEA member states capable of providing reliable and timely analysis of environmental samples in the event of an accidental or intentional release of radioactivity. Ten ALMERA laboratories were selected to participate in the sampling exercise. The soil sampling intercomparison exercise took place in November 2005 in an agricultural area qualified as a "reference site", aimed at assessing the uncertainties associated with soil sampling in agricultural, semi-natural, urban and contaminated environments and suitable for performing sampling intercomparison. In this paper, the laboratories sampling performance were evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, I-00128 Roma, Italy. maria.belli@apat.it
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Zorzi
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sansone
authors.forename: Abduhlghani
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shakhashiro
authors.forename: Adelaide
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gondin da Fonseca
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trinkl
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Benesch
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012538:Scandium / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc; D001151:Arsenic; D012538:Scandium