National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program

Use of an NLLAP (National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program)-approved laboratory. 

Provides a state-by-state list of laboratories approved by EPA s National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP) and recommended for analyzing paint chips, dust wipes, and/or soil. Also information on specific XRF instruments. 

Laboratory analysis of lead in paint chips should only be carried out by those laboratories certified for such analyses by the U.S. EPA National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP), using approved laboratory methods. Use of AAS methodology, particularly in the ICP-AAS configuration, is the common approach. Another routine method is anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). 

Of the 10 experiments in which the proposed rule practices were used and in which the practices prohibited in this final rule were not used, all final lead-based paint dust levels were at or below the regulatory hazard standard (taking into account the accepted level of uncertainty— that is, within plus or minus 20%, which is the performance criteria for the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program. In fact, four experiments resulted in levels that were less than 10 Xg/ft, three resulted in levels less than 30 ig/ft, and three resulted in levels that were approximately 40 ig/ft (all were well within the level of... 

Whether your sample is collected with a wipe or a vacuum, it should be sent to a laboratory certified by either the NLLAP or ELPAT. To be sure the laboratory is certified to analyze for lead in dust, call the National Safety CounciTs National Lead Information Clearinghouse (NLIC) hotline at 800-424-LEAD or one of the agencies that run the accreditation programs, listed in Appendix B, under Testing/Laboratory Analysis. 

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