#11 The Sampling Evolution

Below the Surface

This week’s guest is environmental consulting superstar, Ross McFarland. He shares his thoughts on whether samples we take are actually representative of the site conditions.
Is a 250 ml soil sample that is obtained with all our best intentions, a minute 5 g of which is then analysed, actually representative of a large area or of a large volume of soil? Have you ever stood in front of a massive stockpile of soil and wondered how in the world and from which part of the stockpile you will take samples

1. That are representative.
2. In numbers that don’t send your company broke.
3. Don't get you fired in the process.

Turns out that the environmental industry is not the only one grappling with the representativeness of their samples. In this episode we learn that the mining industry has a similar problem, and yet they have managed to develop methods that are demonstrably better at obtaining truly representative samples -- far more so than simply using grab samples as per AS4482 – the method the environmental industry seems to be so fond of.
Join us on a little dive into the science of soil sampling. There is a lot of food for thought in this episode. Ross was unbelievably well informed, impressive and absolutely fascinating, James was his usual charming inquisitive self and Gunnar was for a change surprisingly well behaved (for the most part). That alone would make it a must to listen to, don't you think?
Ross on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ross-mcfarland-9b740917
This episode was recorded on 18 June 2024.
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The necessary disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this Podcast are the speakers’ own. They do not necessarily represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of 4Pillars Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd or any Client, Supplier or other party related to 4Pillars or the speakers.
(c) Gunnar Haid and James Hammond