title: Lead-based paint testing technologies: summary of an EPA/HUD field study.
abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sponsored a field study of portable technologies for testing for lead in paint in three U.S. cities in 1993. Six chemical test kits and six X-ray fluorescence instruments, which represented the two main types of portable technologies available for residential lead testing at that time, were evaluated. Painted building components in single-family and multifamily housing units were selected to assess the performance of these products under real-world conditions. The study found that the chemical test kits were not effective in distinguishing lead-based paint, as defined by federal standards, from nonlead based paint. The X-ray fluorescence instruments were, under certain circumstances, found to be effective. The study filled an informational gap about the accuracy and precision of the portable lead-testing technologies. This article describes the design of the study and its major findings.
authors.affiliation: QuanTech, Arlington, VA 22209-1607, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Schmehl
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Dewalt
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Koyak
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Schwemberger
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Scalera
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010150:Paint / Q000032:analysis*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D007854:Lead