FIELD INVESTIGATION OF ON-SITE TECHNIQUES FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF LEADIN PAINT FILMS

Representative technologies from each of three different field measure ment techniques for lead in paint: chemical spot test kits; portable x -ray fluorescence (XRF), and anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) follow ing ultrasonic extraction, were tested on site at buildings of a unive rsity in Florida. Nearly 200 paint films were tested for lead in situ with the use of a portable XRF instrument and a rhodizonate-based chem ical spot test kit. Paint films were tested on four different substrat e surfaces: plaster, brick, metal, and wood. Paint samples were then r emoved, ground, and tested for lead content (ex situ) by portable XRF and ASV following ultrasonic extraction in a diluted nitric acid solut ion. Lead measurement results from each of the three field techniques were compared to lead concentrations determined by atomic spectrometry in duplicate split samples of each paint film. The results suggest th at the rhodizonate spot test kit and in situ portable XRF can be used for screening for the presence of lead-containing paint. The data furt her suggest that ex situ lead determination by on-site, ultrasonic ext raction/portable ASV and ex situ portable XRF are feasible. The result s demonstrate the performance of each portable method in a real-world field situation. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.