National foreword

This Published Document is the UK implementation of CEN/TS 17685‑5:2026.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee B/526/8, Geotechnical structures.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

This publication is not to be regarded as a British Standard.

Compliance with a Published Document cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This Published Document was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 30 November 2026.

This Technical Specification (CEN/TS) was approved by CEN on 14 September 2026 for provisional application.

The period of validity of this CEN/TS is limited initially to three years. After two years the members of CEN will be requested to submit their comments, particularly on the question whether the CEN/TS can be converted into a European Standard.

CEN members are required to announce the existence of this CEN/TS in the same way as for an EN and to make the CEN/TS available promptly at national level in an appropriate form. It is permissible to keep conflicting national standards in force (in parallel to the CEN/TS) until the final decision about the possible conversion of the CEN/TS into an EN is reached.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (CEN/TS 17685‑5:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 396 “Earthworks”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to announce this Technical Specification: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

This document describes a method for the determination of the water-soluble salt content (WSS) in soils, which typically comprise inorganic ions such as sulphates, chlorides, nitrites, nitrates, bicarbonates, sodium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, and strontium. The salt content is determined by weighing the residue obtained by evaporation of a proportional aliquot of the aqueous extract.

1 Scope

The purpose of this document is to describe a gravimetric method for the determination of the water-soluble salt content (WSS) in soils. These salts typically comprise inorganic ions such as sulphates, chlorides, nitrites, nitrates, bicarbonates, sodium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, and strontium. The method involves initial dissolution in demineralized water and subsequent determination of the mass of the residue obtained by evaporation.

The results obtained in accordance with this document do not represent the total salt content of the soil, but exclusively the fraction soluble in water under the specific conditions defined in this document. These results are not comparable with those obtained by CEN/TS 17685‑4:2026, relative to the determination of water-soluble sulphate content in soils.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Abbreviations and symbols

5 Apparatus and reagents

5.1 Apparatus

5.2 Reagents

6 Test procedure

6.1 Sample preparation

6.2 Soluble salt dissolution

6.3 Filtration and evaporation

7 Calculation and expression of results

Bibliography