Hnu-hanby Pcp Immunoassay Test Kit Innovative Technology Evaluation Report National Risk Management Research Laboratory Office of Research and Development U.s. Environmental Protection Agency

This innovative technology evaluation report describes a demonstration of the HNU-Hanby Environmental Test Kit for determining pentachlorophenol (PCP) contamination in soil. This kit was demonstrated in Morrisville, North Carolina, in August 1993. The objective of this demonstration was to evaluate the technology by comparing its results to those from a confirmatory laboratory that used standard EPA-approved analytical methods. The HNU-Hanby test kit can provide PCP results only in samples that also contain a petroleum hydrocarbon carrier such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, or fuel oil. The test kit uses the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction to detect the petroleum hydrocarbons. This reaction is calorimetric. A reflective photometer is used to quantitatively measure the reaction color. A site-specific calibration is needed to determine the ratio of PCP to carrier solvent. This ratio is then used to correct the results from the reflective photometer. The detection limit reported by the test kit’s developer is 1.0 part per million (ppm) for soil samples. A 5.0 ppm detection limit was used for this demonstration. The elevated detection limit was the result of reducing the sample mass used for extraction. During the demonstration, 47 soil samples were extracted and analyzed. The precision of the test kit was determined to be statistically the same as the precision of the confirmatory laboratory. The accuracy of the kit’s data set was evaluated as a whole and by concentrations less than and greater than 100 ppm PCP. When the entire data set was evaluated. the test kit’s results were determined to be statistically different from the confirmatory results. This was also the case for samples in which the PCP concentrations were greater than 100 ppm. The test kit’s data for samples containing less than 100 ppm PCP was shown to be statistically similar to the corresponding confirmatory data. Based on this evaluation, the test kit produced Level 1 data for samples containing greater than 100 ppm PCP and Level 2 data for samples containing less than 100 ppm PCP. This indicates that there was a concentration effect on the test kit’s accuracy. The test kit showed greater comparability to the confirmatory data when PCP concentrations in samples were below 100 ppm. This report was submitted in partial fulfillment of 68-CO-0047 WA 0-40 by PRC Environmental Management, Inc (PRC), under sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report covers a period from July 1, 1993. to August 31, 1993, and work was completed as of February 1, 1994.