To describe standard approaches used to determine air sampling strategies before any actual air sampling occurs.

For the majority of the purposes for sampling, and for the majority of the materials sampled, air sampling strategies are matters of choice. Air sampling in the workplace may be done for single or multiple purposes. Conflicts arise when a single air sampling strategy is expected to satisfy multiple purposes.

Limitations of cost, space, power requirements, equipment, analytical methods, and personnel requirements result in an optimum strategy for each purpose.

A strategy designed to satisfy multiple purposes must be a compromise among several alternatives, and will not be optimum for any one purpose.

The purpose or purposes of sampling should be explicitly stated before a sampling strategy is selected. Good practice, legal requirements, cost of the sampling program, and the usefulness of the results may be markedly different for different purposes of sampling.

This guide will not aid in the evaluation of air sampling data.

This guide is intended for those who are preparing to evaluate the work environment of a location by air sampling, or who wish to obtain an understanding of what information can be obtained by air sampling.

This work was commissioned by the committee on Occupational Health and Safety because there was no document available that drew together in one place the many diverse pieces of information about air sampling covered within it. This guide cannot be used as a stand-alone document to evaluate any given air borne contaminant.

1.1 To provide criteria to be used in defining air sampling strategies for workplace health and safety monitoring or evaluation, such as: duration, frequency, number, location, method, equipment, and timing.

1.2 When sampling is done to determine if the conditions in the workplace are in compliance with regulations of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), many of these criteria, for specific hazardous substances, are stated in 29 CFR 1910.