Soil analysis and monitoring is required in a variety of industries for a number of purposes, some of which include:
- contaminated site investigations
- acid sulphate soil investigations
- irrigation schemes
- development approvals
- registered waste and fill
- corrosion investigations
- concrete mixing
- environmental water course impact assessments
- landscaping and agronomy
- road base construction
- erosion assessment
Simmonds & Bristow's laboratories have a long history of skills development with respect to soil analysis. A considerable number of the parameters we perform on water matrices can be applied to soil matrices by either directly digesting the soil sample or by analysing a soil:water extract.
Types of tests that can be performed on soil/sediment samples include but are not limited to:
- physical parameters; density, porosity, dry moisture contents (ADWC, WP, FC, PAWC)
- chemical parameters; pH, conductivity, resistivity, total/exchangeable ions and percentages, cation exchange capacity, sodium absorption ratio
- contaminants; heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides
- microbiological; bacteria, fungi, yeast, mould
- acid sulphate soils; sPOCAS, chromium reducible sulphur
Simmonds & Bristow's consultants are skilled in the interpretation of soil/sediment anaytical data and can provide comment and recommendations relating to many of the above-mentioned applications.