United States Environmental Protection Agency National Risk Management Research Laboratory Cincinnati, OH 45268 Research and Development EPA/600/SR-98/072 September 1998 Project Summary Field Demonstration of Lead Paint Abatement Technologies in Residential Housing A study was conducted to demon- strate lead-based paint (LBP) removal from architectural wood components in unoccupied residential housing us- ing four technologies: granulated car- bon dioxide (CO2) blasting, pelletized CO2 blasting, encapsulant paint re- mover, and wet abrasive blasting with an engineered abrasive. The three former technologies were demonstrated on interior components, the latter on exterior components. An X-ray fluores- cence (XRF) spectrum analyzer (K-shell) was used to quantify the change in lead levels on the substrate before and after paint removal. Inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) was used to quantify the change in lead levels of airborne par- ticulate and settled dust wipe samples before and after paint removal. Aero- dynamic particle size distributions of lead paniculate were measured using a multistage personal cascade impac- tor. The paint removal effectiveness of the encapsulant paint remover and wet abrasive blasting technologies were comparable with overall residual lead levels below the U.S. Housing and Ur- ban Development (HUD) Guideline (1 mg/cm2); both technologies removed the paint to bare substrate with no ap- parent damage (minimal sanding prior to painting) to the underlying substrate. The estimated paint removal rate and abatement cost were 10.3 and 134 ft2/ hour and $1.90 and $2.24/ft2, respec- tively. The CO2 technologies yielded re- sidual paint levels of >5 mg/cm2 and rendered the substrate nonuseable for its intended purpose. Although the air- borne particulate and settled dust lev- els varied with LBP abatement technology, the encapsulant paint re- mover technology consistently showed the lowest levels. This Project Summary was developed by EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back). Introduction The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Pre- vention Act of 1971, as amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, established 1.0 milligram of lead per square centimeter of surface area (mg/ cm2) as the federal threshold requiring abatement of LBP on architectural com- ponents in public and Indian housing de- velopments nationwide. The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (commonly referred to as "Title X") mandated the evaluation and reduc- tion of LBP hazards in the nation's exist- ing housing. Title X also established 0.5% lead by weight as an alternative to the 1.0 mg/cm2 threshold. Objectives The overall objective of this study was to demonstrate LBP removal from archi- tectural wood components in unoccupied residential housing using four technolo- gies: (1) granulated carbon dioxide blast- ing, (2) pelletized carbon dioxide blasting, (3) encapsulant remover paint system, and (4) wet abrasive blasting with an "engi- neered abrasive." Study Design The study was conducted in unoccu- pied single-family and two-family residen- tial housing units in the City of Buffalo, NY. Although the housing units were not randomly selected, they did include differ- ent housing components (e.g., baseboards, door and window moldings), paint thick- nesses, and lead levels. Each technology was evaluated two or three times during a Printed on Recycled Paper ------- one-week period (depending on the logis- tical and technical problems experienced). Technologies Evaluated Granulated and Palletized CO2 Blast- Ing—-The granulated and pelletized CO2 blasting technologies are manufactured by Alpheus Cleaning Technologies Corpora- tion and by Cold-Jet Incorporated, respec- tively. Although the technologies are similar In principle, primary differences between them are the size, density, and applica- tion feed rate of the carbon dioxide blast- ing media. One other primary difference is that the Alpheus technology uses block dry ice, which is shaved to create a fine, crystalline blasting medium, whereas the Cold-Jet technology uses uniform pellets. The mechanism responsible for removal of the paint coating is a combination of several operations. First is the mechani- cal abrasion caused by the movement of one solid material against another. The second is spalling of the material surface that is caused by the rapid expansion of the CO2 during sublimation. The third is thermal fracturing where the significant thermal differential between the substrate and surface material causes these materi- als to expand and contract at different rates, resulting in fracturing of the coating. Encapsulant Paint Remover Technol- ogy—-The encapsulant paint remover is manufactured by Kwick Kleen Industrial Solvents, Inc. The spray-applied encap- sulant paint remover is a two-part liquid system consisting of potassium hydroxide (13.2% by wt. in water) and a proprietary polymer (9% by wt. in water). The solutions are sprayed with an ap- plicator gun that employs an external mix- ing technique. The applicator gun facilitates a flat spray pattern for uniform coverage of the surface. The dwell or residence time of the solution is dependent upon the number of layers of paint, temperature, and other environmental conditions. In the present study, the dwell time was approxi- mately 2 hours for the first application of the encapsulant paint remover, and 1 hour for each additional application. After the paint is absorbed into the remover matrix, the paint remover material is removed from the surface with a putty knife. The encap- sulant paint remover is reapplied if visible paint remains on the surface. Following removal of the paint remover waste, a vacuum device equipped with a low-pres- sure/low-volume sprayer is used to rinse the surface with a trisodium phosphate solution. The surface is then sprayed with a "weak" acidic solution to neutralize wood substrate. Wet Abrasive Blasting with Chemical Stabilizer Technology—This technology, Turbo® Wet Abrasive Blasting System, is manufactured by Keizer Technologies Americas, Inc. The system uses conven- tional blasting abrasives mixed with water (80% abrasive to 20% water) in a pres- sure vessel. The system combines an abrasive medium and water to create a slurry-mixture that is fed to a blast nozzle much like a conventional blasting system. In concept it both reduces the heat gener- ated by friction and is a cohesive bond for the dust created by the blasting process. The paint coating is removed by the ki- netic energy/mechanical abrasion of the blast media striking the surface. A chemical stabilizer, Blastox®, is added at a 15 to 25% mixture to the abrasive/ water media prior to blasting of the sur- face to create an "engineered abrasive." Blastox®, manufactured by TDJ Group, Inc., is a di- and tri-calcium silicate-based material similar in chemical composition to Type I cement. This calcium-silicate- based material and lead in the paint waste react to chemically stabilize the leachable lead as lead silicate with stabilization mechanisms similar to those of Portland cement. Chemical substitution reactions and physical encapsulation of the waste are the two stabilization mechanisms that reportedly render the lead nonleachable based on EPA's Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). Selection of Housing Units A lead-based paint prescreening survey was conducted among a pool of residen- tial housing units in Buffalo, NY. The hous- ing units selected for this study met the following criteria: 1. Each housing unit had a minimum lead-in-paint level of 2.0 mg/cm2 (arithmetic average of greater than 6.0 mg/cm2) on all components tar- geted for paint removal. This level exceeds the upper limit (1.3 mg/ cm2) of the inconclusive range for the XRF instrument used during this study. 2. Housing units for selected interior lead paint removals had similar properties including: chronological age; architectural structure; aver- age levels of lead in paint; and amounts (i.e., square feet) and types of building components tar- geted for paint removal. Sampling and Analytical Methods Thickness of Dry Paint Film The measurement of dry film thickness of the paint was made in accordance with ASTM Method D 4138 - 88. Lead in Paint Film A SCITEC Corporation MAP-3 X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrum analyzer was used to determine the mass of lead per unit area of painted substrate reported as milligrams of lead per square centimeter of surface (mg/cm2). The typical linear op- erational range for the MAP-3 XRF is 0.2 to 10 mg lead/cm2 for the K-shell x-ray.1 The K-shell (or high-energy X-ray emis- sion) was used for the measurements be- cause it allows measurement of lead in the deeper layers of multilayered paint.1 An evaluation of MAP-3 instruments, us- ing a 15-second nominal reading time, showed that the K-shell measured lead levels with low bias on wood substrates, provided that substrate correction was used.2 The XRF measurements were made using a single nominal reading time of 15 seconds. The inconclusive range of the MAP-3 XRF instrument is <0.9 to >1.3 mg/cm2 (wood substrates). The MAP-3 XRF instrument was cali- brated and a fresh radioactive source (40 mCi Co57) was installed within 1 month prior to use of the instrument. The manu- facturer calibrated the instrument using standard reference natural paint films (SRM 2579) developed by MIST. Five con- centration ranges were used 0.0001 to 3.53 mg lead/cm2. Because most of the lead concentrations measured in the paint film before paint removal exceed the maxi- mum calibration standard, the correspond- ing XRF measurements should be interpreted as approximate or minimum values. Lead in Settled Dust Wet wipe samples for settled lead-con- taminated dust were collected in accor- dance with the sampling procedures specified in the HUD Guidelines3. The samples were prepared for analysis in ac- cordance with EPA SW-846 Method 3050 and analyzed by ICP-AES in accordance with EPA SW-846 Method 6010. Lead in Airborne Particulate Personal Breathing Zone Samples—Per- sonal breathing zone and work area air samples were collected during each tech- nology demonstration. The samples were collected and prepared for analysis by ICP- AES in accordance with NIOSH Method 7300. Lead Particulate Aerodynamic Particle Size Distribution—An 8-stage Marple Per- sonal Cascade Impactor (Model 298) was used to determine the aerodynamic par- ticle size distribution of the lead particu- late generated during each technology demonstration. The samples were col- lected and prepared for analysis by ICP- ------- AES in accordance with NIOSH Method 7300. Lead in Paint Chips The paint chip samples were collected from the substrate before paint removal in accordance with the sampling procedures specified in the HUD Guidelines.3 The samples were prepared for analysis in ac- cordance with EPA SW-846 Method 3050 and analyzed by ICP-AES in accordance with EPA SW-846 Method 6010. Lead in Soil The samples were collected from the perimeter of the housing units both before and after the wet abrasive blasting tech- nology in accordance with the sampling procedures specified in the HUD Guide- lines3. The samples were prepared for analysis in accordance with EPA SW-846 Method 3050 and analyzed by ICP-AES in accordance with EPA SW-846 Method 6010. Wet Abrasive Blasting Debris Single samples of the wet abrasive blast- ing debris from the exterior lead abate- ment demonstration were collected to determine the leachable lead based on TCLP. The samples were extracted in ac- cordance with EPA SW-846 Method 1311 and digested in accordance with EPA SW- 846 Method 3015. The samples were then analyzed in accordance with EPA SW- 846 Method 6010. Statistical Methods XRF Measurements and Lead in Settled Dust, Air, and Soil The relative change in lead concentra- tion on the sampled building components was measured by the ratio of the lead concentration before paint removal to the concentration after paint removal. This ra- tio was calculated for each pair of before and after measurements. These ratios were then compared by taking the natural logarithm and comparing the averages by standard analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. XRF lead concentrations before and af- ter paint removal were compared by using a 2-factor ANOVA with Site and Room, nested within Site, as the experimental factors. The relative decrease in lead con- centration was tested by calculating a 95% confidence interval for the mean lead con- centration before paint removal as a pro- portion of the lead concentration after removal. Lead concentrations in settled dust be- fore and after paint removal were com- pared by using a 3-factor ANOVA with Site, Room nested within Site,; and Loca- tion (floor, wall) as the experimental fac- tors. The relative increase in surface lead concentration was tested by calculating a 95% confidence interval for the mean lead concentration after paint removal as a pro- portion of the lead concentration before removal. Airborne lead concentrations before and during paint removal were compared by using a 1-factor ANOVA with Site as the experimental factor. The relative increase in airborne lead concentration was tested by calculating a 95% confidence interval for the mean lead concentration during paint removal as a proportion of the air- borne lead concentration before removal. Lead concentrations in the soil before and after paint removal were compared by using a one-factor ANOVA with Site as the experimental factor. The relative in- crease in lead concentration was tested by calculating a 95% confidence interval for the mean lead concentration after paint removal as a proportion of the lead con- centration before removal. Results and Discussions Encapsulant Paint Remover Technology Effectiveness of Paint Removal (XRF Measurements)—Tablel presents descrip- tive statistics for the XRF measurements collected before and after paint removal at each site. The encapsulant paint re- mover system effectively removed the paint to bare substrate with no apparent dam- age, yielding a substrate that required little preparation before painting. The average paint removal rate was 10.3 ft2/hr (range 8 to 13ft2/hr). The ANOVA results show that the mag- nitude of the decrease in lead concentra- tion on the sampled components varied significantly by site (p=0.0122). Sites 4 and 5 showed similar decreases, whereas the decrease at Site 3 was approximately 2 times higher than at Sites 4 and 5. This is due primarily to the higher concentra- tions of lead before paint removal at Site 3. Residual levels of lead contamination after removal were essentially the same at all three sites. The ANOVA results fur- ther showed that the variation between the rooms within each site was not statis- tically significant (p=0.4496). 8-hr TWA Exposure Concentrations— The 8-hr TWA exposure concentrations of lead measured on the technology opera- tor and helper ranged from 0.16 to 4.1 u.g/ m3. None of the calculated 8- hr TWA concentrations exceeded the OSHA Ac- tion Level of 30 u,g/m3. Wet Abrasive Blasting Technology Effectiveness of Paint Removal (XRF Measurements)—Table 2 presents de- scriptive statistics for the XRF measure- ments collected before and after paint removal at each site. The wet abrasive blasting paint remover technology effec- tively removed the paint to bare substrate with no apparent damage to the underly- ing substrate. Thus, a substrate was pro- duced that required little preparation before painting (i.e., light sanding prior to paint- ing. The average paint removal rate was 134 ft2/hr (range 133 to 135 ft2hr). The ANOVA results show that the mag- nitude of the decrease in lead concentra- Table 1. XRF Measurements (K-Shell) Collected Before and After Paint Removal Using Encapsulant Paint Remover Site No. Lead Concentration (ma/cm2) Mean Minimum Maximum Before Paint Removal 3 64 4 64 5 32 Overall 160 14.7 9.6 9.2 11.3 7.2 4.2 6.1 4.2 26.9 16.6 18.9 26.9 After Paint Removal 3 4 5 Overall 64 64 32 160 0.7 1.1 0.8 0.8 ND" ND ND ND 4.2 9.5 6.7 9.5 a Denotes that the XRF reading was < 0 after substrate correction. ------- Table 2. XRF Measurements Collected Before and After Paint Removal Using Wet Abrasive Blasting Technology Site No. Lead Concentration (mg/cm2) Mean Minimum Maximum Before Paint Removal 8 64 9 Overall 64 128 20.4 8.2 14.3 0.7 2.5 0.7 43.0 20.7 43.0 After Paint Removal 8 9 Overall 64 64 128 0.8 1.0 0.93 NDa ND ND 3.0 2.5 3.0 * Denotes that the XRF reading was z 0 after substrate correction. tion on the wood siding varied significantly by site (p=0.0062). Specifically, the de- crease in lead concentration after paint removal at Site 8 was approximately 3 times greater than at Site 9. This is due primarily to the higher lead concentrations before removal at Site 8. Residual levels of lead contamination after removal were essentially the same at both sites. The ANOVA results further showed that the variability between areas within each site was statistically significant (p=0.0561). Figure 1 shows the differential particle size distribution based on the lead par- ticulate aerodynamic measurement using the multistage cascade impactor. This graph provides the lead particle mass con- centration AC,) in each particle-size band versus the geometric mean diameter (GMDj), where GMDi = VD, x DM. The lead particulate generated by the wet abrasive blasting paint removal technology covers a wide-size spectrum, where the larger particles account for the greatest mass of lead. The corresponding cumulative par- ticle size distribution was determined by preparing a log-probability plot of the par- ticle size cut-point (Dp) versus the cumula- tive percent of mass (mg/m3) less than the Dp. The distribution of sample weights ap- peared to approximate a lognormal distri- bution with a mass median diameter (MMD) of 15 u.m. That is, 50% of the particle mass is borne by particles larger than 50 urn. The calculated geometric stan- dard deviation (GSD) was 6.3. 100 0.01 0.4 0.7 1.3 2.6 4.6 7.7 12 18 32 Particle Geometric Mean Diametewr (jim) Figure 1. Differential particle size distribution for lead particulate generated during wet abrasive blasting. The 8-hr TWA exposure concentrations of lead measured on the technology op- erator and helper ranged from 171 to 198 u.g/m3. All of the calculated 8-hr TWA ex- posure concentrations exceed both the OSHA Action Level of 30 u.g/m3 and Per- missible Exposure Limit of 50 u,g/m3, 8-hr TWA. TCLP Analyses of Blasted Debris—The samples of the Blastox® debris collected at Site 8 showed that the maximum con- centration of lead (range 0.1 to 4.7 mg/L) for the Toxicity Characteristic by TCLP did not exceed the regulatory limit of 5.0 mg/L (40 CFR 261). The samples col- lected at Site 9 showed lead concentra- tions (26 to 33 mg/L) above 5.0 mg/L. The results at Site 9 are inconsistent with pre- vious TCLP analysis of Blastox® debris from paint removal.4 Granulated and Palletized CO2 Blasting Technologies Effectiveness of Paint Removal—Both the granulated and pelletized CO2 blasting technologies sporadically removed the paint to base substrate, but they also caused significant abrasion of the wood substrate. That is, the underlying substrate was textured and gouged. This condition would render the abated substrate nonre- usable as an architectural building com- ponent. Cost Analysis A cost analysis was performed based on the field data from the actual test dem- onstrations. Table 3 summarizes the total costs for application of these four tech- nologies. The actual costs in terms of square feet was calculated by dividing the costs per site hour by the paint removal rate (i.e., the rate of paint removal in square feet abated per hour). Conclusions The following are the principal conclu- sions reached during this study. The encapsulant paint remover technology effectively removed lead-based paint from interior ar- chitectural wood components to bare substrate with no apparent damage, yielding a substrate that required little preparation prior to painting. The granulated and pelletized car- bon dioxide blasting technologies were not effective in removal of the lead-based paint from interior ar- chitectural wood components with- out severe damage (abraded/ gouged) to the underlying substrate. The wet abrasive blasting technol- ogy with an abrasive mixed with Blastox® (a di- and tri-calcium sili- ------- Table 3. Estimated Costs Based on Square Feet of Surface Abated Cost Factor Wet Abrasive Blasting with Chemical Stabilizer Technology Type Encapsulant Paint Remover Granulated CO2 Blasting Equipment/Materials/ $160/site hour Waste Disposal $4.32/site hour" $30/site hour Labor Subtotal Strip Rate Removal Cost $140/sitehour $300/site hour 134ft2/hra $2.24/ft2 $15/sitehour $19.32/sitehour 10.3ft2/hra-<: $1.88/ft2 $30/site hour $60/site hour 140ft2/hra'd $0.43/ft2 > Based on total ft2 stripped and total time observed. b Based on chemical cost of $0.72/ft2 painted surface abated; 2 applications of paint stripper. c Does not include the dwell time for the chemical to react with the paint. The average dwell time was 2 hr per application. d The strip rate was based on the total ft2 tested/total time of test. cate based material) effectively re- moved lead-based paint from exte- rior architectural wood components to bare substrate with no apparent damage, yielding a substrate that required little preparation prior to painting. The smallest increase in work area contamination of settled lead dust and airborne lead dust above baseline levels resulted from the encapsulant paint removal technol- ogy. The encapsulant paint remover technology did not result in per- sonal exposures to airborne lead particulate above the OSHA Action Level (30 |ig/m3). The airborne lead particulate exposures generated during granulated carbon dioxide blasting, pelletized carbon dioxide blasting, and wet abrasive blasting technologies exceeded the OSHA Action Level (12-, 13-, and 7-times, respectively) as well as the Per- missible Exposure Limit (50 ng/m3). Recommendations The encapsulant paint remover technology can remove lead-based paint from architectural wood com- ponents without damage (only re- quiring light sanding) to the underlying substrate, as well as re- quiring minimal worker protection and environmental containment. It is recommended that this technol- ogy be included in a future study to (1) further evaluate its efficacy on interior architectural components in- cluding more emphasis on decora- tive "historic" wood substrates, (2) confirm the adequacy of worker pro- tection safeguards and environmen- tal containments, and (3) obtain more definitive estimates of perfor- mance rates, hazardous waste gen- eration, and overall usage costs of this technology. Both the granulated and pelletized carbon dioxide blasting technolo- gies (as demonstrated in this study) do not appear to be viable tech- nologies to remove lead-based paint from architectural wood components due to the resultant damage to the underlying substrate. However, these commercially available tech- nologies offer outstanding environ- mental gains regarding hazardous waste minimization; i.e., these tech- nologies do not generate second- ary waste. Hence, it is recommended that these technolo- gies be included in a future study to (1) evaluate their efficacy to re- move lead-based paint from ma- sonry surfaces of residential housing units, (2) determine the worker protection safeguards and environmental containment require- ments, and (3) determine the per- formance rates and overall usage costs of these technologies. The wet abrasive blasting technol- ogy can remove lead-based paint from exterior architectural wood components without damage (only requiring light sanding) to the un- derlying substrate, as well as po- tentially offering outstanding environmental gains regarding haz- ardous waste minimization due to the addition of Blastox® to the abra- sive blasting media. It is recom- mended that this technology be included in a future study to (1) evaluate its efficacy to remove lead- based paint from masonry surfaces of residential housing units, (2) fur- ther evaluate the worker protection safeguards and environmental con- tainment requirements including an evaluation of lead particulate expo- sures during sanding of the abated substrate (e.g., wood), (3) further evaluate Blastox®-blasting debris as a hazardous waste based on the EPA TCLP, and (4) determine the performance rate and overall us- age cost of this technology. References 1. Hardison, D. L., J. D. Neefers, and E. D. Estes. Standard operating pro- cedures for measurement of lead in paint using the SCITEC MAP-3 X-ray fluorescence spectrophotom- eter, EPA/600/8-91-412. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 1991. 2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A field test of lead-based paint testing technologies: Techni- cal Report, EPA 747-R-95-002b, 1995. 3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Guidelines for the evaluation and control of lead- based paint hazards in housing, Washington, D.C., June 1995. 4. Hock, V. F., C. M. Gustafson, D. M. Cropek, and S. A. Drozdz. Dem- onstration of lead-based paint re- moval and chemical stabilization using Blastox®, Technical Report FEAP-TR-FE-94/Draft, U.S. Army Center Public Works, Alexandria, VA 22315, February 1995. The full report was submitted in par- tial fulfillment of Contract No. DACW88- 96-M-0277 by Environmental Quality Management, Inc. This work was con- ducted under sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USACERL). ------- ------- ------- Writers of this project summary are the staff of Environmental Quality Manage- ment, Inc., Cincinnati, OH 45240. Alva Edwards-Daniels is the EPA Project Officer (see below). The complete report, entitled "Field Demonstration of Lead Paint Abatement Technologies in Residential Housing," (Order No. PB98-172489; Cost: $36.00, subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone: 703-605-6000 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: National Risk Management Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Research Information Cincinnati, OH 45268 BULK RATE POSTAGE & FEES PAID EPA PERMIT No. G-35 Official Business Penalty for Private Use S300 EPA/600/SR-98/072 ------- |