A Discrete Point Sampler for Ground Water Monitoring Wells

Abstract
A discrete point sampler has been developed that overcomes disadvantages inherent in several current small‐volume samplers. It is designed to obtain ground water samples after a well has been purged with a pump. It consists of a sample chamber, two ports, and a stopcock for withdrawing sample aliquots. After lowering the sampler into a well, sampling is initiated by pulling on a line that sequentially removes the plugs in the lower and the upper level ports. The sample chamber fills from the bottom port and vents air from the top port. The device is suitable for sampling for volatile organic compounds in ground waters that are not subject to spontaneous bubble degassing. The upper port is sufficiently far above the lower port that none of the water that is sampled is exposed to the vented air. The sample chamber fills in such a way that the water that is taken from the chamber for analysis is not exposed to the headspace in the chamber.