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Author
McKnight, M. E. | Roberts, W. E. E.
Title
Lead Concentration in Consumer Paints: A Pilot Study.
Coporate
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Report
NISTIR 4851, June 1992, 14 p.
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Keywords
paints | lead (metal) | consumer paints | lead concentraion | x ray spectrometry
Abstract
A pilot study was conducted for the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to measure the lead concentrations in a small sampling of new consumer paints. Although a Consumer Product Safety Commission Regulation requires that the lead concentration be no greter than 0.06 percent (600 parts per million, ppm or 600 mu g/g) by mass of paint solids, the actual lead concentration is not usually measured and reported. Estimates of expected lead concentrations in new paint are needed in HUD's lead-paint abatement program. Thus, the objective of this pilot study was to determine whether the lead concentration in a small sampling of new paints tended to be near the regulatory limit. The lead concentration in each of 31 consumer paints was measured using laboratory x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. All concentraion estimates were less than 100 ppm. The lead concentraion of most samples was below the detection limit of the procuedure used of 30 ppm.