No New Lead Testing Kits Pass ETV

Overview

Renovation, repair and painting activities may disturb painted surfaces and produce a lead-exposure hazard, so before undertaking this work in your home it is important to accurately identify lead-based paint. According to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) survey of the prevalence of lead-based paint hazards in the nation’s housing, approximately 38 million pre-1978 U.S. dwellings contain lead-based paint. The federal standards for lead-based paint in target housing and child-occupied facilities is a lead content in paint that equals or exceeds a level of 1.0 milligram per centimeter squared (mg/cm²) or 0.5 percent by weight.

In the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (RRP) rule, the Agency described criteria for lead test kits that detect lead in paint.

Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Process and Preliminary Results

Pursuant to the 2008 Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule, EPA initiated testing of new lead test kits by using its Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV). The purpose of the Lead ETV program was to evaluate whether manufacturer-submitted lead test kits could meet both a false negative and a false positive response criterion. In September 2009, EPA accepted applications from four vendors for the evaluation of their lead test kits through EPA’s ETV program. The evaluations of these kits have been completed and the preliminary results are provided below.

The RRP rule requires that after September 1, 2010, any newly recognized test kit must meet both the negative and positive response criteria of no more than 5 percent false negatives and no more than 10 percent false positives, each with 95 percent confidence, as related to the regulated level of lead in paint of 1.0 mg/cm2 or 0.5 percent by weight.

Preliminary Results (07/22/2010). Based on the preliminary ETV results, there are no kits that have met both the false negative and the false positive response criteria requirements; however, there is one kit that has met the false negative response criterion. The following three tables present the preliminary results of each test kit evaluated through the ETV program. These results are undergoing final quality assurance review and a stakeholder peer review process. These two reviews are expected to be completed by September 2010. EPA does not believe that these reviews will change the overall pass/fail results of these kits. EPA will make available on its website the final ETV results and reports in September 2010.

Because no new kits meet both the false negative and false positive criteria, EPA will continue to recognize the LeadCheck® test kit and the State of Massachusetts lead test kit. After EPA reviews the final report on Test Kit A, the Agency anticipates that this test kit will also be recognized as meeting the false negative criterion.

Table 1
Preliminary Overall ETV Results

Table 2
Preliminary ETV Negative Response Criterion¹ Results

¹(≤5 percent false negative responses with 95 percent confidence for paint containing lead at or above the regulated level, 1.0 mg/cm² or 0.5 percent by weight)

Table 3
Preliminary ETV Positive Response Criterion² Results

² (≤10 percent false negative responses with 95 percent confidence for paint containing lead below the regulated level, 1.0 mg/cm² or 0.5 percent by weight)