vvEPA
                                    United States
                                    Environmental Protection
                                    Agency
                 EPA/540/MR-95/517
                 August 1995
                                   SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
                                   TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
                                    Demonstration  Bulletin

                                        EnviroGard PCB Test Kit

                                                 Millipore Inc.
Technological Description: The EnviroGard™ polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCB) immunoassay test kit rapidly analyzes for PCB
concentrations in soils.

Soil sample extracts are added to test tubes coated with antibod-
ies that bind PCB molecules. The excess soil extracts are washed
out of the tubes after incubation, and the PCB conjugate, a horse
radish peroxidase enzyme,  mimics free PCB molecules and is
added to the tubes. Unoccupied antibody binding sites bind the
PCB  conjugate. Excess PCB conjugate is  washed away. An
enzyme substrate and a coloring agent are then added to the test
tube.

The color intensity in the test tube is measured at 405 nanom-
eters using a small, portable spectrophotometer. The color inten-
sity is inversely proportional to PCB concentration  in the soil
sample.  The results obtained from  the soil  samples are com-
pared against three calibrators of 5,  10, and 50 parts per million
(ppm). This type of test is  called a competitive enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

PCB concentrations are semiquantitatively classified as below 5
ppm,  between 5 and  10 ppm, between 10 and 50 ppm, and
greater than  50 ppm. Up to six sample analyses (in duplicate)
can be performed in about 15 to 20 minutes. Millipore Corpora-
tion can  provide optional protocols to  perform more detailed
quantitative analysis.

Waste Applicability: The PCB immunoassay test kit measures
PCB concentrations in soil. The test can react to Aroclors 1016,
1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, and 1260, showing moderate sensitivity
to Aroclor 1221. Test detection limits are reported to be 0.1 part
per billion in water and 0.1 ppm in soils.  Millipore has also
developed ELISA kits  under the EnviroGard™ trademark for
triazine,  aldicarb, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid  (2,4-D),
carbofuran,  pentachlorophenol,  cyclodienes, alachlor, and
benomyl. These kits have been used to test for contaminants in
food, water, soil, and contaminated surfaces, and are available
for commercial distribution.

The EnviroGard™ PCB immunoassay test kit has been used to
screen and quantify PCB contamination in soils at a SITE dem-
onstration of a solvent extraction system in Washburn, ME. The
kit was also demonstrated at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
site in Kansas City, MO. \

Demonstration Results:  Soil containing over 50 ppm PCB was
required for the demonstration tests at the Washburn, ME site.
Calibrators at the 5 and 50 ppm level were used to evaluate the
kit's  potential for segregating soils.  Additional tests were per-
formed on dilutions of the soil extracts  to evaluate quantitative
performance. Highly contaminated soils were easily identified,
and quantitative tests provided correlation  to contaminant levels
obtained by off-site laboratory analysis using EPA Method 8080.

Soils contaminated primarily with Aroclor  1242 in ranges from
non-detectable to greater than 1,000 ppm were analyzed with the
test kit at the DOE facility. Over 200 assays of environmental
samples and calibrators were performed to evaluate correlation
with offsite laboratory analysis by EPA Method 8080.
                     i
Draft methods for the PCB test in soil were submitted for review
by the Office of Solid Waste methods panel in summer 1992. The
final  report is undergoing  peer review and will be published in
1995.

An Innovative Technology Evaluation Report  (ITER) describing
the complete demonstration will be available in late 1995.

Acknowledgment: This Bulletin was prepared by the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, Office  of Research and  Develop-
ment, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati,
OH 45268.

For Further Information:

EPA Project Manager:
Jeanette Van Emon     i
U.S.  EPA             '
944 East Harmon
P.O.  Box 93478        i
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
702-798-2154
                                                                                            Printed on Recycled Paper

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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
National Risk Management Research Laboratory (G-72)
Cincinnati, OH 45268

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