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ENVIROGARD™ PCB TEST KIT, MILLIPORE, INC. - INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT
Citation:
Hess, E. AND D. Hamilton. ENVIROGARD™ PCB TEST KIT, MILLIPORE, INC. - INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT. EPA/540/R-95/517 (NTIS 96-116504), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
The Envirogard™ polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) immunoassay test kit rapidly analyzes for PCB concentrations in soils. Soils samples are extracted using methanol; extracts and calibration solutions are added to test tubes coated with antibodies that bind PCB molecules. The soil extracts are washed away after incubation, and the PCB conjugate is added to the tubes. Unoccupied antibody binding sites bind the PCB conjugate. Excess PCB conjugate is washed away. An enzyme substrate and a coloring agent are then added. The color intensity, which is inversely proportional to PCB concentration in the sample, is compared against three calibrators of 5, 10, and 50 ppm. Reported detection limits are 0.1 ppb in water and 0.1 ppm in soil. The test kit was used to screen and quantify PCB contamination in soils at a solvent extraction system demonstration in Washburn, Maine. The kit was also demonstrated at a DOE site in Kansas City, MO. Highly contaminated soils were easily identified, and quantitative tests provided correlation to contaminant levels obtained by off-site laboratory analyses using EPA Method 8080.