Non-Destructive Technique for Testing Potentially Hazardous Drywall Materials

The handheld XRF analyzer - X-MET7000 from Oxford Instruments - offers a rapid and non-destructive solution for screening of tainted and potentially hazardous Chinese drywall and for lead inspection.

At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of imported drywall because it was abundant and inexpensive. In late 2008 the CPSC began receiving reports from homeowners complaining of odors emanating from drywall, corrosion of copper and other metals in the home, and aggravation of existing health conditions. Thousands of homes contain drywall now suspected to be the source of these problems.

Detecting strontium has been determined to be a good corollary to identifying Chinese made drywall, which has been identified as the major source of problematic drywall.

Oxford Instruments’ new application note documents the use of its handheld XRF analyser – XMET7000 – for fast and accurate determination of strontium concentration in drywall.

The report highlight:

• Why the simple “point and shoot” operation and lightweight design make this XRF analyzer the ideal tool for home inspectors, insurance claims adjusters, and contractors.
• How using the X-MET7000 avoids sample preparation and enables analysis without removing a section of the drywall.

The results for this application demonstrate that the X-MET7000 provides repeatable and reliable results within seconds for the determination of strontium concentration in drywall.

Also important for home inspector use is the ancillary application of Pb (lead) inspection; the X-MET7000 offers fast and accurate on-site screening for lead in painted surfaces. Since the X-MET7000 does not use a radioactive isotope for its source of X-rays, it benefits from seeing No degradation of results over time or increasing analysis times and has No need to replace depleted isotopes or dispose of expired isotopes, thus greatly lowering total cost of ownership. It shows reliable results for low level (ppm) lead (Pb) analysis.