OSL Sampling Kit

Sample kit

Kit Contents

  • OSL tube with end caps
  • Pounding cap
  • 1-quart Ziploc bag
  • Air-tight container
  • Sharpie
  • 1-gallon Ziploc bag
  • Packing tape 
  • Duct Tape 
  • Sledge hammer
  • Trowel
  • Measuring tape
  • Field Book

OSL Tube - Electrical Metallic tubing (EMT) 304 Stainless Steel Conduit, 1.4' diameter, 8' long

  • Purpose: light-tight vessel for equivalent dose (De) sample
  • Purchase: hardware store (can usually get cut to size in store); Grainger.com (10' sections)
  • Non-threaded

OLS tube

End Caps: 2.0" X 1.5" vinyl cap

  • Purpose: Secure De Sample in tube
  • Purchase: stockcap.com, USplastic.com, or Giddings Machine company

End Cap

Pounding Cap - Stainless Steel 304 Cast Pipe Fitting, Square Head Cored Plug, Class 150, 2" NPT Male

  • Purpose: used to drive OSL tube into sediment
  • Purchase: plumbing store or Amazon.com
  • Affix to end of OSL tube with duck tape.
  • Remove from tube after De sediment is collected.
  • Do not use with threaded pipes.
    pounding cap

Items to bring:

  1. opaque metal conduit (DO NOT USE PVC)-, 1.5” x 8”, one end sharpened
  2. small (2lb) sledgehammer to pound tube into outcrop
  3. 1L zip seal plastic bag to collect dose-rate samples
  4. film container (or other airtight) to collect for water content
  5. duct tape to cap sample tube
  6. good luxuries = pounding caps (2” plug for 1.5” tube), foam rubber insulation acts as piston in tube to prevent mixing of sediment, vinyl end caps, packing tapeSample kit

Why we recommend Steel tubes over PVC:

  1. Good luxuries = pounding caps (2” plug for 1.5” tube), foam rubber insulation acts as piston in tube to prevent mixing of sediment, vinyl end caps, packing tape
    • PVC and other plastic-based tubes tend to vibrate during pounding in dense sediment which causes mixing of light-exposed with non-exposed grains.
    • Wall thickness of PVC pipes are greater than metal pipes, leading to greater difficulty in sample collection.
    • Sharpened edges needed to cut into sediment are difficult to achieve on PVC tubes, requiring more force to drive in tube.
  2. Not light proof:
    • Non-black PVC tubes are not 100% light-tight allowing light to penetrate and bleach the sediment within the tube. White and grey PVC tubes need to be wrapped in light-proof plastic/tinfoil immediately after collection.
  3. Problems with end caps:
    • Commonly available end caps for PVC pipes are designed with head space between the end of the tube and the cap -allowing sediment to mix after collection.
    • PVC end caps are tight fitting and difficult to remove in the dark lab, they can often remain stuck on the end of the tube when used as a pounding cap.
      Use of tinfoil and duct tape to seal the ends of BLACK PVC pipe is recommended over use of end caps.

In addition, we suggest avoiding soft metal tubes such as aluminum and copper as these tend to buckle when driven into sediment with a sledge hammer.

Do not use threaded metal pipes as sediment in threads may contaminate sample during extraction.