Elements and Performance Criteria

Codes of practice
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used
Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements
Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include:
federal legislation, such as:
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
state/territory government legislation and regulations and local government by-laws, policies, and plans dealing with:
land use, acquisition, planning and protection
environmental protection
soil conservation
pollution and contaminated sites
Australian and international standards, such as:
Standards Australia HB 160 Soils testing
AS 1289 series Methods of testing of soils for engineering purposes
AS 1726:1993 Geotechnical site investigations
AS 1199 series Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes
AS 1678 series Emergency procedure guide -Transport
AS 4433.2:1997 Guide to the sampling of particulate materials - Preparation of samples
enterprise and/or client sampling schemes and sampling plans
enterprise recording and reporting procedures
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
methods and procedures which may be written to meet enterprise, client and/or regulatory/certifying body requirements
site plans, maps and specifications
Fundamentals of soil science
Fundamentals of soil science include:
soil morphology:
soil profiles and soil horizons
soil structure and texture
mineralogy
(Australian) soil classification:
order and suborder
great group, subgroup and family
pedology and soil formation:
pedogenesis
pedosphere
Climate, Organisms, Relief, Parent Material or Lithography, Time (CLORPT)
edaphology:
plant-soil interactions
agricultural soil science (soil fertility)
environmental soil science (soil contamination and remediation)
geomorphology:
erosion and mass wasting
transportation and deposition (sedimentation)
fluvial, aeolian, hillslope and weathering processes
soil chemistry:
soil solids (composition and structure)
solid (solution equilibria)
acid-base equilibria (acid sulfate soils)
oxidation-reduction equilibria
anion and cation exchange
soil salinity
complexiometric equilibria
sorption phenomena on soils
physical/engineering soil properties:
colour (Munsell chart)
liquid and plastic limits
linear shrinkage
soil particle density
particle size distribution
dispersion and Emerson class number
Basic principles of sampling
Basic principles of sampling include:
sampling plans and site selection
representative samples
preservation of integrity of samples
maintaining identification of samples relative to their source, enterprise and legal traceability
cost-effectiveness of sampling
consistency of sampling procedures
sampling principles, including random, systematic stratified and composite sampling
Materials sampled
Materials sampled may include:
solid samples, such as soil and sediments
natural, agricultural and engineered soils
solid wastes
soil water
soil gas/vapour
Types of samples
Types of samples may include:
discrete samples
composite samples
quality control samples
research or one-off samples
environmental or survey samples
Sampling tools and equipment
Sampling tools and equipment may include:
maps, global positioning system (GPS) unit and compass
shovels and crow bars
metal-free scoop and cleaning brush
folding rulers and tape measures
hand and power augers
pry bars and files (auger maintenance)
push tubes
sampling tubes, dip tubes, spears and syringes
front-end loader, backhoe, excavator and drill rig
sample bottles or containers, plastic bags/containers and disposable buckets
lysimeters
soil gas probes
sample splitters
graters and mills
mortar and pestles
Testing equipment and instruments
Testing equipment and instruments may include:
sieves and sieve shakers
digital camera
hand lenses and microscopes
Munsell colour chart
pH meter and soil pH test kit
conductivity meter
tensiometer (moisture measurements)
ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectrophotometer
atomic absorption spectrophotometer
gas chromatographs (GC) and GC-MS
infrared spectrophotometer
diffuse reflectance accessories
inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometers and ICP-MS
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers
radiation monitor (e.g. Geiger-Muller counter)
drying ovens
balances
laboratory glassware
Site and sampling hazards
Site and sampling hazards may include:
solar radiation, dust and noise
wildlife, such as snakes, spiders and domestic animals
biohazards, such as microorganisms and agents associated with soil
chemicals, such as acids and hydrocarbons
aerosols
sharps and broken glassware
manual handling of heavy sample bags and containers
crushing, entanglement and cuts associated with moving machinery and hand tools
vehicular and pedestrian traffic
Safety procedures
Safety procedures may include:
use of MSDS
use of personal protective equipment, such as hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, safety glasses, goggles, face guards, coveralls, gowns, body suits, respirators and safety boots
use of biohazard containers and laminar flow cabinets
correct labelling of reagents and hazardous materials
handling, and storing hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labels, MSDS, manufacturer instructions, and enterprise procedures and regulations
regular cleaning and/or decontaminating equipment and work areas
machinery guards
signage, barriers, service isolation tags, traffic control and flashing lights
lock-out and tag-out procedures
Chemical soil tests
Chemical soil tests may include:
electrical conductivity
pH
alkalinity
cation exchange capacity
organic carbon
available phosphorus
nutrients and micronutrients
sulfate
carbonate
nitrate and total nitrogen
metals, including heavy metals
organics, including pesticides and other hazardous chemicals
Physical soil tests
Physical soil tests may include:
soil profile description
soil colour (Munsell)
soil texture
soil resistivity
liquid limit
plastic limit (plasticity index)
Atterberg limits
standard penetration test
cone penetration test
soil moisture content
compaction
infiltration
volume expansion
linear shrinkage
particle size analysis
dispersibility (Emerson class number)
water repellence
radioactivity
OHS and environmental management requirements
OHS and environmental management requirements:
all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time
all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied
where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health

Overview of assessment
Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:
collecting and preserving sufficient representative soil samples to enable all processing and testing to occur and storage of back-up samples
identifying atypical materials and samples and taking appropriate action
labelling samples and sub-samples to satisfy enterprise/legal traceability requirements
applying sampling and test methods/procedures to accurately prepare and test samples
safely operating and maintaining sampling equipment and test instruments to enterprise standards and/or manufacturer specification
interpreting gross features of data, and identifying atypical results as out-of-normal range or an artefact
preparing calibration graphs and calculating results using appropriate units and precision
making valid conclusions about soil suitability
reporting results and completing sampling records using enterprise procedures
working safely and following relevant legislative requirements for the disposal of waste and the preservation of the environment.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.
Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSL974003A Perform chemical tests and procedures
MSS025006A Collect and evaluate groundwater data
MSS025014A Perform sampling and testing of contaminated sites.
The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.
Resources may include:
variety of sample types
sampling plans
sampling containers and sampling equipment
equipment/instruments for in-field and laboratory soils testing.
Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
inspection of soil samples collected by the candidate
review of sampling/testing documentation completed by the candidate
feedback from peers and supervisors that the candidate consistently follows enterprise procedures, sampling/testing procedures and works safely
questioning to assess underpinning knowledge of soil sampling, soil testing equipment and methods
observation of the candidate collecting and testing a range of soil samples.
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.
Guidance information for assessment