Standardization News

A new standard approved by ASTM International’s air quality committee (D22) will be used to assess and help prevent human exposure to lead hazards in the air. The new test method (D8568) covers the determination of lead in airborne particulate, dust by wipe and micro-vacuuming, paint, and soil collected in and around buildings and related structures using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS).

According to ASTM member Kevin Ashley, Ashley Analytical Associates, GFAAS is an effective method for measuring trace lead in environmental samples. The new standard is one of three companion standards that also include methods using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasmas-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). These standards have replaced a withdrawn standard, E1613, that encompassed all three techniques.

The new standard can be used for regulatory purposes regarding lead exposures in extracted samples of paint, surface dust, soils, and aerosols. Laboratories that carry out lead analysis in environmental samples will be able to use D8568 for accreditation purposes.

This effort directly relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3 on good health and well-being. “This standard and others developed by ASTM’s sampling and analysis of lead for exposure and risk assessment (D22.12) have direct utility in the prevention of overexposure to lead in the environment,” says Ashley.