Innovative Technology: Immunoassay Field Analysis
Date of Opinion: May 24, 1999
Project Background:
Regulatory and institutional barriers to the adoption of innovative
hazardous waste site assessment technologies can result in increased expenditures
to evaluate and remediate contaminated sites. Because innovative technology
has the potential to clean up and protect the environment and the public's
health in a more cost-effective and efficient manner, finding ways to encourage
their increased use is crucial.
Recognizing the need to overcome barriers to the acceptance of technology
innovation, the six New England States, EPA Region I - New England, the
Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA) and the New
England Governors' Conference signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in
March 1998 to promote interstate regulatory cooperation for waste site
assessment and cleanup technologies. Subsequently, NEWMOA has worked closely
with EPA Region I and the Northeast Hazardous Substances Research Center
(NHSRC) to increase the understanding of the factors that discourage the
use of innovative technologies. NEWMOA held meetings and conference calls
with NEWMOA's Waste Site Cleanup Workgroup and co-sponsored, with NHSRC
a Stakeholders Workshop held in May 1998 called "Increasing the Use of
Innovative Technologies on Small Hazardous Waste and Petroleum Sites."
The focus of this Workshop was on building consensus among the stakeholders
regarding practicable measures to reduce or eliminate obstacles to the
use of innovative site assessment technologies.
At the May 1998 Stakeholder Workshop, participants identified the lack
of an interstate forum in the Northeast to actively review technologies
and communicate both public and private sector use of innovative technologies
as a major impediment to the overall marketability of the newer field analytical,
characterization and monitoring technologies. To address this need, NEWMOA
has established a Technology Review Committee (TRC), made up of one or
more staff members from each of the Northeast states(1)
to coordinate state review, issue advisory opinions and disseminate information
on the use of innovative technologies.
The purpose of this Advisory Opinion is to raise awareness of immunoassay
technology and its application in the Northeast. This Advisory Opinion
is intended to communicate TRC interest in the use of immunoassay technology
to potential users of hazardous waste site characterization technology,
such as consultants, as well as to project managers within the various
state site cleanup programs. The Advisory Opinion is also intended to educate
consultants and the state regulators who oversee projects about the factors
that can affect the proper use of immunoassay technology.
All seven of the Northeast states participated in the development of
this Advisory Opinion consensus statement. In addition, the technical information
was reviewed by U.S. EPA Region I and a vendor of immunoassay technology.
However, it should be noted that this Advisory Opinion is not intended
to be an "approval" of this technology. The appropriateness of the use
of immunoassay technology will need to be determined on a site-by-site
basis. Potential users should contact officials in the state in which the
project is located to determine if there are any state-specific requirements
that could apply.
Overview of Technology:
The primary advantage of immunoassay analysis
over laboratory analysis is that analytical results can be generated in
real-time allowing decision-making in the field regarding the need for
additional sampling or further remediation (provided that proper data validation
procedures are followed). Immunoassay test kits have been designed to be
relatively easy-to-use (compared to laboratory analysis) and can provide
results for numerous samples in a relatively short timeframe. For example,
some kits can provide results for up to 20 samples in one hour.
Immunoassay test kits have been developed
to be specific to individual compounds such as individual pesticides or
to be sensitive to compound groups such as PAHs, PCBs or petroleum hydrocarbons.
Many immunoassay test kits have undergone significant validation and are
SW-846 Methods. There are SW-846 method immunoassay kits for the following
analytes:
Analyte | SW-846 Method |
Pentachloro Phenol (PCP) | 4010A |
2,4 Dichlorophenoxy Acetic Acid in soil | 4015 |
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in soil | 4020 |
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) in soil | 4030 |
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil | 4035 |
Carcinogenic PAH in soil | 4035 |
Toxaphene in soil | 4040 |
Chlordane in soil | 4041 |
DDT in soil | 4042 |
trinitrotoluene (TNT) in water and soil | 4050 |
Hexahydro-1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-Triazinc (RDX) in water and soil | 4051 |
Triazene in water | 4670 |
Immunoassay technology has been used for
site characterization or cleanup monitoring at over 40 Superfund sites,
including several Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy
(DOE) facilities.(2) U.S. EPA Region I has
used immunoassay technology at several sites in New England and published
Immunoassay Guidelines for Planning Environmental Projects in October
1996. The guidelines can be obtained at http://www.epa.gov/region01/measure/ia/iaguide.html
or by calling (617) 575-CEIT. In addition, several Northeast states have
successfully used immunoassay technology during site characterization and/or
remediation, including Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and
Vermont. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division
of Environmental Remediation has issued Quality Assurance Guidelines
for Using Immunoassay Field Screening, which can be obtained by calling
(518) 457-9280.
Recommendations:
The Technology Review Committee has determined
that, if used properly, immunoassay technology can provide useful
data that should improve site characterization and/or cleanup verification.
Potential users of immunoassay technology are strongly urged to consult
U.S. EPA Region I's Immunoassay Guidelines for Planning Environmental
Projects (October 1996) and kit vendors prior to planning the
field effort. The TRC recommends the following items to improve or insure
product performance; however, users should recognize that a particular
test kit might have additional requirements:
The NEWMOA Technology Review Committee has issued this Advisory Opinion on this 20th day of May 1999.
In Connecticut:
Christine Lacas
|
In Maine:
Mark Hyland
|
In Massachusetts:
Dorothy Allen
|
In New Hampshire:
Robert Minicucci
|
In New York:
James Harringtion
|
In Rhode Island:
Laurie Grandchamp
|
In Vermont:
Richard Spiese
|
At NEWMOA:
William Cass
|
At EPA Region
I:
Carol Kilbride
|