Hazardous Waste Site Sampling Basics

The Bureau of Land Management administers over 260 million acres of public lands. As part of its stewardship of these public lands, BLM is responsible for managing abandoned mine site; illegal tresspass/dump sites; abandoned facilities that used, stored, or disposed of hazardous substances; retired military areas; oil and gas production sites; and other potential hazardous waste sites. With this responsibility comes the necessity of characterizing the type of contaminants released at these sites.