Sampling General Guidelines

At Tutee, we believe that a successful testing operation stems only from a successful sampling that will ensure repeatability and reproducibility and minimize uncertainty. According to ASTM E300, procedures, sampling cannot be made explicit enough to cover all cases. Therefore, extreme care and good judgment are necessary to ensure samples are obtained which represent the general character and average condition of the material. 

1. PPE: clean hands are important. Clean gloves may be worn but only when absolutely necessary, such as during cold weather, or for reasons of safety. Select wiping cloths so that lint is not introduced, thus contaminating samples.
2. Watch vapors: Because of the flammability and toxicity of some industrial chemicals, avoid breathing them, igniting them from an open flame, burning embers, or a spark produced by static electricity. 
3. Watch Highly Volatile Liquids: when sampling relatively volatile products, the sampling apparatus shall be filled and allowed to drain before drawing the sample. In case of transferring to another container, this container shall have been cleaned and dried as described in ASTM E300 and also be rinsed with some of the volatile product and then drained. When the actual sample is emptied into this container, the sampling apparatus should be upended into the opening of the sample container and remain in this position until the contents have been transferred so that no unsaturated air will be entrained in the transfer of the sample.

Based on the reliability and safety considerations, samples are rejected upon the following circumstances, 

• The sample container is damaged or defective.
• There is no doubt as to the nature of the contents of the sample container: for example, because of the presence of an old label, incorrect markings, or insufficient identification.
• There is evidence of an unexpected lack of uniformity; for example, a separate layer or suspended matter.
• Obvious and unusual variations are apparent in the sample