Are there any American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) standards that EPA considers “documented methodologies”?

Answer:  Yes. ASTM Standards are voluntary consensus standards developed after careful review by technical committees which generally include EPA and HUD staff. ASTM Standards relating to lead often reference EPA and HUD documents, just as EPA and HUD documents often reference appropriate ASTM Standards. Although EPA did not specifically list ASTM Standards by name in its list of documented methodologies at §745.227(a)(3), EPA considers ASTM Standards to be “other equivalent methods”. For example, the ASTM has developed the following standards which apply to collection and analysis lead samples in paint, dust or soil: ASTM E1726, “Standard Practice for Sample Digestion of soils for the Determination of Lead by Atomic Spectrometry.” ASTM E1727, “Standard Practice for Field Collection of Soil Samples for Lead Determination by Atomic Spectrometry Techniques.” ASTM E1728, “Standard Practice for Field Collection of Settled Dust Samples Using Wipe Sampling Methods for Lead Determination by Atomic Spectrometry.” ASTM E1729, “Standard Practice for Field Collection of Dried Paint Samples for Lead Determination by Atomic Spectrometry.” ASTM E1792, “Standard Specification for Wipe Sampling Materials for Lead in Surface Dust.” EPA recognizes that the field is still changing and that new and better technologies and methods are still under development. EPA drafted the regulatory text broadly so as to not limit the use of these future methodologies. Should ASTM develop other relevant standards in the future, EPA would also consider them to be documented methodologies.

Question Number: 23002-33458

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