OFF-site XRF-i ‘Paint-on-Surface’ Sample Analysis

OFF-site ‘Paint-on-Surface’ sample analysis provides XRF-i lead survey ‘equivalent’ results, when low volume but conclusive testing is required. It is generally only applicable to small jobs or for those where time and distance are an issue and conclusive results are critical.

Case Study: When the operator of a nuclear power station needed URGENT definitive lead paint analysis, we were able to report the results within one hour of receiving couriered samples from the north of England – at midnight on a Friday!

By adapting to technical progress, state-of-the-art X-Ray Fluorescence ‘isotope’ (XRF-i) technology can now be used for a complete analysis of ‘Total Lead’ in lead containing materials (LCMs) ‘as found’ on-site.

For projects where limited sampling is enough, LabXRF-i analysis is a very cost- effective approach, especially if you’ve used LeadCheck® Swabs to identify those areas of paintwork which should be analysed.

However, if you need around 30 samples or more, it makes sense to think about commissioning a more extensive ON-Site XRF-i lead paint survey.

Traditionally, if you wanted to quantify lead in paint levels, you’d obtain samples and send them to a laboratory for analysis and subsequent reporting. With little or no control of the quality of samples they receive, most laboratories have no choice but to analyse samples on an “as received” basis. As a result laboratory analysis of lead in paint levels is generally reported as a percentage (%) lead content, which is of limited use beyond absolute confirmation of the presence of lead in paint content.

When you’re trying to work out appropriate containment provision, work method selection, likely airborne lead dust levels and hazardous waste considerations you need to know more than a lead content ‘%’  figure can provide. Knowing the ‘total’ lead content, referenced to the area size of a sample – as provided by LabXRF-i or SiteXRF-i analysis – is a much more useful measure.

The Control of Lead at Work Regulations, 2002 (‘CLAW’) require consideration of “the amount (of lead) involved” for risk assessment purposes. This is not something that can be ‘guesstimated’ or risk assessed without meaningful quantitative data – from LabXRF-i and SiteXRF-i lead surveys and analysis.