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A LITERATURE REVIEW OF WIPE SAMPLING METHODS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS AND TOXIC INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS
Citation:
BILLETS, S. A LITERATURE REVIEW OF WIPE SAMPLING METHODS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS AND TOXIC INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/004 (NTIS PB2007-106103), 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this program is to promote the acceptance and use of innovative field technologies by providing well-documented performance and cost data obtained from field demonstrations.
Description:
Wipe sampling is an important technique for the estimation of contaminant deposition in buildings, homes, or outdoor surfaces as a source of possible human exposure. Numerous
methods of wipe sampling exist, and each method has its own specification for the type of wipe, wetting solvent, and determinative step to be used, depending upon the contaminant of concern. The objective of this report is to concisely summarize the findings of a literature review that was conducted to identify the state-of-the-art wipe sampling techniques for a target list of compounds. This report describes the methods used to perform the literature review; a brief review of wipe sampling techniques in general; an analysis of physical and chemical properties of each target analyte; an analysis of wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list; and a
summary of the wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list, including existing data gaps. In general, no overwhelming consensus can be drawn from the current literature on how to collect a wipe sample for the chemical warfare agents, organophosphate pesticides, and other toxic industrial chemicals of interest to this study. Different methods, media, and wetting solvents have been recommended and used by various groups and different studies. For many of the compounds of interest, no specific wipe sampling methodology has been established for their collection. Before a wipe sampling method (or methods) can be established for the compounds discussed in this report, two steps must be taken: (1) conduct investigative research to fill in the gaps in wipe sampling knowledge, and (2) conduct method validation to optimize the methods.