Assessing the potential of portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as a rapid, onsite screening tool in the assessment of cadmium surface decontamination effectiveness

Abstract

Portable X-ray fluorescence has successfully been used to effectively evaluate occupational exposure to airborne and surface metal contaminants nondestructively. Traditional methods of assessing metal surface contamination involve the costly, time-consuming collection and laboratory analysis of wipe samples, making portable X-ray fluorescence an attractive alternative method for screening worksites by reducing delays in risk assessment decision-making. Existing research into this use of portable X-ray fluorescence has primarily been centered on the analysis of airborne and surface lead contamination. The extant literature is sparse on the use of portable X-ray fluorescence with other metals for surface contamination with respect to occupational exposure. The present study evaluated the use of portable X-ray fluorescence in the screening of cadmium surface contamination to determine if the effectiveness of decontamination measures can be ascertained by this technique. Wipe samples were collected and screened with portable X-ray fluorescence before being sent to the laboratory for definitive analysis to assess the correlation between portable X-ray fluorescence readings in percent mass with laboratory results in μg/ft². Portable X-ray fluorescence readings demonstrated a strong linear correlation with laboratory results, as indicated by the R² value of 0.993. Therefore, this technique may be further developed and deployed as a screening tool for wipe samples used for evaluating contamination and decontamination of metal-contaminated areas.

Keywords:

• Compliance
• dermal
• exposure
• lead
• metal contaminants
• wipe sample

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Tim Aeschliman for instigating this line of inquiry, to Veronica Reed for copyediting, and LyondellBasell for providing a student scholarship supporting this work.

Data availability statement

Analytical data are available upon request from the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a scholarship contribution by LyondellBasell to the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Fire Protection & Safety Engineering Technology (FPST) Excellence Fund through the OSU Foundation.