X-ray fluorescence: detection of lead in wall paint.
An instrument has been developed for the in situ determination of lead on painted surfaces. It utilizes, as a source of gamma rays, radioactive cadmium-109 and its daughter silver-109 (metastable) to excite the K series x-rays of lead, and a solid-state, lithium-drifted germanium detector. The device, which is capable of detecting 0.26 milligram of lead per square centimeter of paint [approximately 3 percent (by weight) of lead in a single coat] beneath ten layers of lead-free paint, has been tested in a preliminary survey of several tenement apartments in New York City.
D002104:Cadmium; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005453:Fluorescence; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009519:New York City; D010150:Paint / Q000032:analysis*; D011634:Public Health; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014505:Urban Population
D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead