Dust Wipe: Determination of lead dust for the purpose of lead risk assessments and clearance inspections is done by an accredited lab using a wet chemical method (e.g., digestion of the wipe followed by atomic absorption spectroscopy). This lab value is reported by the inspector/assessor and used as a pass/fail criterion.
However, the Dust Wipe XRF mode illustrated here allows for a rapid estimation of lead dust in the field prior an inspection, as a reality check or to evaluate the progress of cleanup operations. The dust wipe method delivers a value of lead in ug (micrograms)-per-wipe or ug/ft2 for an area of 1 ft2. The starting wipe dimension is ~2” x 2”, which is then folded to a ½” x ½” square, about the size of the detector window, as defined by the method.
Figure 9. Dust Wipe Mode