"Can the XRF rapid tester be used to detect the coatings on walls and ceilings?
If so, could you please help me? Could you do this test for me?
I'm so worried, I've been so anxious lately that I can't even sleep properly."
This was a plea for help from a reader in Huizhou, Guangdong, who has been following the Toxics-Free Corps WeChat official account for a long time.
The story began in the summer of 2021. At the time, the person seeking help was the mother of a 2-year-old child. While browsing the Toxics-Free Corps WeChat official account, she came across a report on lead-containing paint, and her worries quietly began to grow. Earlier that year, in order to avoid the hazards of a newly renovated indoor environment, she had intentionally chosen to buy a second-hand apartment. Before signing the purchase agreement, she even hired a qualified agency to test the indoor air quality, and the results showed it met safety standards.
Believing she could move into her new home with peace of mind, she was surprised when, during the summer handover, she discovered, while cleaning, that the decorative strips along the edges of two rooms were painted with latex paint. This reminded her of the lead-paint report she had read, so she immediately invited a local wall-finishing professional for an on-site inspection. The inspection revealed that the apartment’s walls were covered with textured wall film, which was not environmentally friendly. Despite pressure from her family, she refused to move into the second-hand home because she still feared that the wall and ceiling coatings contained heavy metals such as lead.
This mother said: “After having a child, my primary consideration in everything from clothing and food to housing and transportation is safety and health. But even though I’m so careful, my child’s blood lead level was below 20 µg/L at the one-year checkup, yet by the two-year physical examination, it had risen to the high level of 35.67 µg/L.”
After receiving the plea for help, a nearby "Toxin Inspector" from the Toxics-Free Corps team immediately set out to assist. The test results were truly concerning: Using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, they "scanned" and inspected all the wall surfaces, furniture, balconies, window frames, etc., throughout the seeker's home, as well as children's toys, tableware, and kitchen utensils. Significant risk items for heavy metal lead exposure were found:
1.The original developer-installed window frames contained more than 2600 mg/kg of lead, meaning over 0.26% of the material was lead.
2.The painted balcony railings contained more than 2000 mg/kg of lead, meaning over 0.2% of the material was lead.
3.The self-installed acrylic washbasin contained about 3600 mg/kg of lead, meaning about 0.36% of the material was lead.
When heavy metal concentrations are high, the device shows a red warning alert.
For the sake of her child’s health and the safety of the home environment, the mother replaced or took protective measures against the risk items after the inspection.
Explanation
The testing device used in this “toxin inspection” is called an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. It can rapidly detect chemical elements in consumer products, coatings, soil, metals, and other substances. By analyzing the emitted X-ray fluorescence spectrum, it can measure the concentration of more than 20 elements, including antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chlorine, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc, as well as non-metals such as chlorine, bromine, and phosphorus. Detection time ranges from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
However, the use of this equipment does not meet the standards or qualifications of a certified laboratory. The results are for reference only and cannot be used as legal “evidence.”
