Lead-based paint testing technologies: summary of an EPA/HUD field study.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sponsored a field study of portable technologies for testing for lead in paint in three U.S. cities in 1993. Six chemical test kits and six X-ray fluorescence instruments, which represented the two main types of portable technologies available for residential lead testing at that time, were evaluated. Painted building components in single-family and multifamily housing units were selected to assess the performance of these products under real-world conditions. The study found that the chemical test kits were not effective in distinguishing lead-based paint, as defined by federal standards, from nonlead based paint. The X-ray fluorescence instruments were, under certain circumstances, found to be effective. The study filled an informational gap about the accuracy and precision of the portable lead-testing technologies. This article describes the design of the study and its major findings.

Semivolatile organic compounds in adipose tissue: estimated averages for the US population and selected subpopulations.

OBJECTIVES: The fiscal year (FY) 1986 Environmental Protection Agency National Human Adipose Tissue Survey (NHATS) was conducted to estimate average concentrations of 111 semivolatiles in human adipose tissue within the US general population and selected subpopulations. METHODS: Population and subpopulation estimates of average semivolatile concentrations were established from 671 adipose tissue specimens pooled across 50 analytical samples. RESULTS: Among polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), average concentrations for the group aged 45 and older were from 188% to 706% higher than for the 0- through 14-year-old age group. Similar increases with age were observed for pesticides. Geographic effects on average concentration were mixed, and no significant race or sex effects were observed. Statistically significant increases from FY 1982 NHATS results were observed for PCBs and hexachlorobenzene, whereas a decrease from FY 1982 was significant for beta-BHC (benzene hexachloride). Increases from FY 1984 NHATS results were significant for p,p-DDT (dichlordiphenylethylene), p,p-DDE (dichlordiphenyldichlor), hexachlorobenzene, and PCBs. CONCLUSIONS: The survey establishes baseline average levels of semivolatile compounds in the adipose tissue of US residents.

Dioxins and dibenzofurans in adipose tissue of the general US population and selected subpopulations.

OBJECTIVES: The Environmental Protection Agency's National Human Adipose Tissue Survey (NHATS) was conducted in fiscal year (FY) 1987 to (1) estimate average concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in the adipose tissue of humans in the US population, (2) identify differences in average concentrations among subpopulations, and (3) compare average concentrations with those from the FY 1982 NHATS: METHODS: Population estimates of the average levels of PCDDs and PCDFs were established on the basis of 865 human adipose tissue specimens collected in FY 1987. Average levels among subpopulations were compared. RESULTS: The average concentration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in the adipose tissue of the US population was 5.38 pg/g, increasing from 1.98 pg/g in children under 14 years of age to 9.40 pg/g in adults over 45. The effect of age was significant for nine compounds. Regional differences in the levels of 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorinated dibenzofurans were statistically significant, but there were no significant differences associated with sex or race. CONCLUSIONS: The survey provides a baseline of average levels of PCDDs and PCDFs in the adipose tissue of humans in the US population.