This study investigated two methods for analyzing composite dust wipes for
lead. The term composite means two or more wipes collected from common comp
onents in a dwelling that are combined in the field and analyzed as a singl
e sample, Two methods-a modified Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Meth
od 3050A and a Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory (WOHL) method-were
selected based on their anticipated ability to handle the added mass of mat
erials and dust expected in a composite, The study used off-the-shelf wipes
to prepare single-, two-, and four-wipe samples. Wipes were spiked with a
standard reference material at either a low dust loading level or a high le
vel, and three laboratories analyzed the samples using both methods and bot
h flame atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-atomi
c emission spectrometry techniques (ICP). Good agreement with known spiked
levels was possible using either method; the modified EPA 3050A showed part
icular promise. When up to four wipes were combined, all three laboratories
found that modified EPA Method 3050A resulted in recoveries between 89 and
101% of the known standard. Although it was possible to achieve good agree
ment with spiked levels using the WOHL method, some difficulties were encou
ntered, particularly when followed by ICP analysis and when using four wipe
s, The increased time required to digest the multiwipe composites was not p
roportional to the number of wipes in a composite: the two- and four-wipe c
omposites did not take two to four times as long as a single-wipe sample. L
aboratory analysis of a four-wipe sample cost an average of 65% less than a
nalysis of four single-wipe samples for each method.