National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 17126:2024. It supersedes BS ISO 17126:2005, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee EH/4, Soil quality.

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.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2024.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 190, Soil quality, Subcommittee SC 4, Biological characterization.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 17126:2005), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

the category of test material has been rearranged (soil and other test materials, water-soluble chemical substances, and chemical substances insoluble in water) in 7.1;
the procedure for adding moisturizing water and seeding has been specifically modified in 7.3 and 7.5;
the consideration of phytotoxicity signs in control vessels has been added in Clause 9.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

For the assessment of the suitability of soil to sustain living organisms, there is a need for simple, rapid, inexpensive biological test methods as a complement to chemical analysis. The method described in this document has been developed for the testing of contaminated soil as well as other contaminated samples. It is cost-effective and can be conducted within a short period of time. Furthermore, the biological material is easily available, the method does not require advanced equipment for measurements or for growing plants, and it can be conducted by any skilled laboratory technician without special training.

1 Scope

This document specifies test procedures for the determination of effects of contaminated soils or other contaminated samples on the emergence of lettuce seeds.

This document is applicable to contaminated soils, soil materials, compost, sludge and chemical testing. It is also applicable to the measurement of effects of substances deliberately added to the soil and to the comparison of soils of known and unknown quality.

This document is not applicable for volatile contaminants.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principle

5 Materials

5.1

5.2

5.3

6 Apparatus

6.1

6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

6.6 Controlled environment chamber.

6.7 Magnifier.

7 Procedure

7.1 Testing of test material

7.2 Temperature and light regime

7.3 Water content

7.4 Reference chemical substance

7.5 Preparation of test dishes and start of test

7.6 Test duration

7.7 Measurements

7.8 Recordings

8 Expression of results

9 Validity of the test

10 Test report

Bibliography

BS ISO 17126:2024

Soil quality. Determination of the effects of pollutants on soil flora. Screening test for emergence of lettuce seedlings (Lactuca sativa L.)

Current

Published:

31 Oct 2024