The SCITEC Corporation MAP® Portable Assayer (see photograph below) is a field portable X-ray fluorescence (FPXRF) analyzer. This FPXRF analyzer can simultaneously analyze for select metals. It is compact, lightweight, and does not require liquid nitrogen. A rechargeable battery allows the FPXRF analyzer to be used at remote sites where electricity is unavailable.
MAP® Portable Assayer
The MAP® Portable Assayer uses a silicon X-ray detector to provide elemental resolution. The unit demonstrated under the SITE Program used a Cadmium-109 radioisotope as the excitation source.
The MAP® Portable Assayer provides high sample throughput and is reportedly easy to operate. Analytical results obtained by this instrument may be comparable to the results obtained by EPA-approved methods.
The instrument is composed of a control console connected to an ambient scanner with a cable. The basic MAP® system also includes a carry pack, rechargeable batteries, operator's manual, target metal standard, and a shipping case. The control console contains a 256-multichannel analyzer (MCA) with a storage capacity of 325 spectra and analyses. The control console weighs 7 pounds and the ambient scanner weighs about 2.5 pounds.
The MAP® Portable Assayer is capable of analyzing 70 samples in an 8- to 10-hour day based on a 240-second analysis time. The instrument is empirically calibrated by the developer. SCITEC requires a 1-day operator training and radiation safety course prior to obtaining a specific license to operate the instrument. The standard MAP® Portable Assayer package sells for $15,590.
The MAP® Portable Assayer can detect select metals in soil and sediment samples and in filter and wipe samples. It can also detect lead in paint. The MAP® Portable Assayer reportedly can quantitate metals at concentrations ranging from parts per million to percentage levels.
The MAP® Portable Assayer has been used at a number of Superfund sites across the country. It was evaluated in April 1995 as part of a SITE demonstration of FPXRF instruments. The instrument was used to identify and quantify concentrations of metals in soils. A preliminary evaluation of the results yielded field-based method detection limits, accuracy, and precision data from the analysis of standard reference materials and performance evaluation samples.
Comparability of the FPXRF results to an EPA-approved reference analytical method was also assessed during the demonstration. An EPA SW-846 method for FPXRF analysis of soils was published in 1996. A comprehensive evaluation of all results will be presented in a technical report from EPA in 1997.
EPA PROJECT MANAGER:
Stephen Billets
U.S. EPA
National Exposure Research Laboratory
Characterization Research Division
P.O. Box 93478
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
702-798-2232
Fax: 702-798-2261
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPER CONTACT:
Steve Santy
SCITEC Corporation
415 North Quay
Kennewick, WA 99336
800-466-5323
509-783-9850
Fax: 509-735-9696