A total of eight volunteer test homes located in the area surrounding Research Triangle Park, NC, were selected for sampling of their used carpets to further our understanding of the nature and distribution of pesticide residues within the home environment. One sample of dust from each home was analyzed for screening purposes, and those results were used to select six homes for complete sample analysis from the eight that were tested. In each home, a first sample was collected from a 1-sq m area of carpet as near as possible to the main entrance to the home from outside. A second sample was collected from a carpeted areas, also 1 sq m, within the interior living area of the home, such as in the center of the living room or family room. Each sample collected consisted of seven separate sample fractions that were later analyzed for pesticide residues: (1) surface-dislodgeable residues; (2) vacuum-dislodgeable residues; (3) deeply embedded dust residues; (4) carpet fiber residues; (5) carpet binder residues; (6) carpet padding residues; and (7) residues contained in the dust found beneath the carpet padding on the subfloor. The samples were analyzed by use of established laboratory procedures involving Soxhlet extraction followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the extracts for a target list of 39 neutral pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In addition, samples from two of the homes were analyzed to determine acid herbicides and phenols.

"May 2000." "Contract 68-D5-0049." Microfiche.