[*] WILL BE REPLACED BY MYLAR BAGS ======================================================================
The NBC recon units collect samples under various circumstances. For example, a recon unit may collect samples in an area free of hostile forces. The Special Forces NBC Reconnaissance team may collect samples within the enemy area of operations or deep into the enemy's rear area. Samples include toxic agent munitions, chemical products, air, water, soil, and vegetation. In addition, all expended material used to collect the samples should be turned in to the laboratory with the samples. This material includes items such as expended M256A1 kits, M8 and M9 paper. These items should be recovered, packaged, and shipped with the suspected samples for analysis. Different information may be derived from each type of sample; Table B-3 compares different types of samples.
Control or background samples that are collected from clean samples must be identical to the samples collected from the areas near the attack areas as baseline data. The contaminated samples must be compared to the baseline data (control samples). This is especially true if unknown or nonstandard chemical and/or suspected biological agents were employed. The analysis center uses the control samples to compare with a contaminated one. The recon unit collects control samples of soil, water, and vegetation from areas about 500 meters upwind of an alleged attack area. Control samples generically are the same as those collected in an alleged attack area. For example, if leaves from an apple tree in an attack area were collected as a suspected contaminated sample, the recon team should collect leaves (as a control sample) from an apple tree outside of the contaminated area. If water from a pond in the attack area is collected, the recon unit should collect control samples of water from a pond (not a moving stream) in a nearby clean area. The size of an environmental control sample should be about the same as the suspected contaminated sample collected from the attack area (see Table B-4, page B-20).
====================================================================== SAMPLE STABILITY ANALYSIS SAMPLE TYPE INFO VALUE TO COLLECT TIME REQUIRED RELIABILITY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AIR GOOD GOOD 20 MIN HIGH WATER GOOD GOOD 5 MIN HIGH SOIL FAIR FAIR 5 MIN MODERATE VEGETATION FAIR POOR 10 MIN LOW TISSUE EXCELLENT FAIR 30 MIN HIGH BLOOD GOOD FAIR 10 MIN HIGH URINE GOOD FAIR 10 MIN HIGH MUNITION FRAGMENTS FAIR FAIR 10 MIN FAIR PACKING MATERIALS FAIR FAIR 10 MIN FAIR ======================================================================