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Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Verification Statement

TECHNOLOGY TYPE:

ANODIC STRIPPING VOLTAMMETRY

APPLICATION:

MEASUREMENT OF LEAD IN DUST WIPES

TECHNOLOGY NAME:

Scanning Analyzer SA-5000 System

COMPANY:

Palintest



ADDRESS:

21 Kenton Lands Road
Erlanger, KY 41018

PHONE: (859)341-7423
FAX: (859) 341-2106

WEB SITE:
E-MAIL:

www.palintestusa.com
info@palintestusa.com



The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created the Environmental Technology
Verification Program (ETV) to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental
technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The goal of the ETV
Program is to further environmental protection by substantially accelerating the acceptance and use of
improved and cost-effective technologies. ETV seeks to achieve this goal by providing high-quality,
peer-reviewed data on technology performance to those involved in the design, distribution, financing,
permitting, purchase, and use of environmental technologies.

ETV works in partnership with recognized standards and testing organizations and stakeholder groups
consisting of regulators, buyers, and vendor organizations, with the full participation of individual
technology developers. The program evaluates the performance of innovative technologies by developing
test plans that are responsive to the needs of stakeholders, conducting field or laboratory tests (as
appropriate), collecting and analyzing data, and preparing peer-reviewed reports. All evaluations are
conducted in accordance with rigorous quality assurance protocols to ensure that data of known and
adequate quality are generated and that the results are defensible.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is one of the verification organizations operating under the
Advanced Monitoring Technology (AMT) Center. AMT, which is administered by EPA's National
Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), is one of six technology areas under ETV. In this verification
test, ORNL evaluated the performance of lead in dust wipe measurement technologies. This verification
statement provides a summary of the test results for Palintest's Scanning Analyzer SA-5000 system.

EPA-VS-SCM-50

The accompanying notice is an integral part of this verification statement.

August 2002


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VERIFICATION TEST DESCRIPTION

This verification test was designed to evaluate technologies that detect and measure lead in dust wipes.
The test was conducted at the Capitol Community Technical College in Hartford, CT, from November 5
through November 9, 2001. The vendors of commercially-available, field portable technologies blindly
analyzed 160 dust wipe samples containing known amounts of lead, ranging in concentration from <2 to
1,500 |ig/wipe. The experimental design was particularly focused on important clearance levels, such as
those identified in the Code of Federal Regulations of 40, 250, and 400 |ig/ft2. The samples included
wipes newly-prepared and archived from the Environmental Lead Proficiency Analytical Testing
Program (ELPAT). These samples were prepared from dust collected in households in North Carolina
and Wisconsin. Also, newly-prepared samples were acquired from the University of Cincinnati (UC).
The UC dust wipe samples were prepared from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Standard Reference Materials (SRMs). The results of the lead analyses generated by the technology were
compared with results from analyses of similar samples by conventional laboratory methodology, in a
laboratory that was recognized as proficient by the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program
(NLLAP) for clearance testing. Details of the test, including a data summary and discussion of results,
may be found in the report entitled Environmental Technology Verification Report: Lead in Dust Wipe
Detection Technology—Palintest, Scanning Analyzer SA-5000 System, EPA/600/R-02/057.

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION

The Scanning Analyzer SA-5000 system uses the electrochemical technique of stripping analysis to
specifically determine the concentration of lead in a solution. Anodic stripping analysis is a two step
process. The first step is called the deposition step and involves the electro-deposition of lead into a
disposable mercury-film electrode. The deposition is achieved by cathodic deposition at a fixed potential
and time. Following the fixed deposition time, the system enters the second step, the stripping or
measurement step. The stripping step involves scanning the potential anodically using a potential-time
waveform. During this anodic scan the deposited lead is reoxidized and stripped out of the electrode.
The current and potential are measured during the anodic scan and the resulting voltammogram contains
a peak whose potential is specific to lead and whose height is proportional to the concentration of lead in
the solution. The peak height is converted from a current to a concentration using one of many
calibration curves stored in the instrument. No user calibration is required because each batch of
electrodes is checked during manufacture and assigned an eight figure calibration code. The calibration
code is used to select the calibration curve which matches the electrode batch. Reporting limits during
this verification test were 25 |ig/wipe.

VERIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE

The following performance characteristics of the SA-5000 were observed:

Precision: Precision—based on the average percent relative standard deviation—was 6%.

Accuracy: Accuracy was assessed using the estimated concentrations of the ELPAT and UC samples.
The average percent recovery value for all samples reported above 25 |ig/wipe was 86%. This negative
bias is statistically significant, but within the acceptable bias range of 100% ± 25%.

Comparability: A comparison of the SA-5000 results and the NLLAP-recognized laboratory results was
performed for all samples (ELPAT and UC) that were reported above 25 |ig/wipe. The correlation
coefficient (r) for the comparison of the entire dust wipe data set was 0.995 [slope (m) = 0.93, intercept =
3.74], indicating good agreement with the NLLAP laboratory data.

EPA-VS-SCM-50

The accompanying notice is an integral part of this verification statement.

August 2002


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Detectable blanks: All twenty samples, prepared at concentrations around 1 |ig/wipe, were reported
correctly as < 25 |ig/wipe by the SA-5000.

False positive results: A false positive result is one in which the technology reports a result that is above
the clearance level when the true (or estimated) concentration is actually below. The SA-5000 did not
produce any out of a possible 38 fp results. For comparison, the NLLAP laboratory also did not report any
fp results.

False negative results: A false negative result is one in which the technology reports a result that is below
the clearance level when the true (or estimated) concentration is actually above. The SA-5000 reported 22
out of a possible 22 fn results. (For comparison, the NLLAP laboratory reported 16 out of a possible 19 fn
results.) This is due to the SA-5000's slight negative bias that was observed for the UC samples.

Completeness: The SA-5000 generated results for all 160 dust wipe samples, for a completeness of 100%.

Sample Throughput: A single analyst was able to prepare and analyze 80 samples per 10-hour day. Each
sample was analyzed in duplicate, for a total of 160 measurements per day.

Overall Evaluation: The overall performance was characterized as having an acceptable amount of
negative bias, precise, and in good agreement with an NLLAP-recognized laboratory's results. The
verification team found that the SA-5000 was relatively simple for the trained analyst to operate in the
field, requiring less than an hour for initial setup. As with any technology selection, the user must
determine if this technology is appropriate for the application and the project data quality objectives.
Additionally, ORNL and ETV remind the reader that, while the ETV test provides valuable information
in the form of a snapshot of performance, state, tribal, or federal requirements regarding the use of the
technologies (such as NLLAP recognition where required) need to be followed. For more information on
this and other verified technologies, visit the ETV web site at http://www.epa.gov/etv.

Gary J. Foley, Ph.D.

Director

National Exposure Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development

W. Frank Harris, Ph.D.

Associate Laboratory Director
Biological and Environmental Sciences
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

NOTICE: EPA verifications are based on evaluations of technology performance under specific, predetermined criteria
and appropriate quality assurance procedures. EPA and ORNL make no expressed or implied warranties as to the
performance of the technology and do not certify that a technology will always operate as verified. The end user is solely
responsible for complying with any and all applicable federal, state, and local requirements. Mention of commercial
product names does not imply endorsement or recommendation.

EPA-VS-SCM-50

The accompanying notice is an integral part of this verification statement.

August 2002


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