LCS Laboratory offers air sampling kits for the analysis of 12 toxic heavy metals in residential air. The list includes the most common metals that can originate from a nearby manufacturing shop, dust after the recent renovation project, or toxic environmental dust: cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silver, tin, and zinc. Residential air is usually clean and should not have any detectable amount of heavy metals. If any metal is detected, it is not “normal” and your health may be at risk.
Our laboratory is specialized in professional air monitoring, and we are the first and only company in the US and Canada, that offers this test to homeowners to control the quality of residential air. We offer you a sampling kit that allows you to collect samples of metal dust from the air. Your samples should be returned to us for further laboratory testing. The sampling kit includes one air sampling pump and several cassettes where the air dust will be collected. The sampling procedure is based on the method developed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, USA) #7301 and can detect as little as 0.1 μg/m³ of a metal in air. The sampling procedure is quite straightforward and does not 
require previous training as seen here. We recommend 4-5 hour sampling to achieve the best sensitivity.
Once you collect the samples of dust from your air, you will need to return the equipment and the samples to our lab for analysis. The samples will be analyzed using Ionized Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP AES), and the results are reported as the concentration of metal in the air in micrograms of metal per meter cube of air (μg/m³).
Examples of different regulations for selected metals are shown below:
Metal
|
Clean Ambient Air Limit1) μg/m³ |
Industrial Exposure Limit2) μg/m³ |
| Cadmium | 0.025 | 10 |
| Chromium | 0.5 | 500 |
| Cobalt | 0.1 | 20 |
| Copper | 50 | 1000 |
| Iron | 4 | 3500 3) |
| Lead | 0.50 | 100 |
| Manganese | 0.4 | 200 |
| Molybdenum | 120 | 300 |
| Nickel |
0.2 |
1000 |
| Silver | 1 | 100 |
| Tin | 10 | 2000 |
| Zinc | 35 | 1600 3) |
1) Ontario Ambient Air Quality Criteria (2012); 2) Ontario Occupational Exposure Limit (2021); 3) Calculated from exposure limit for a Metal Oxide
How to read your report:
If the concentration of a metal in your home is below the criteria for clean air, it is likely causing no harm. If your results exceed the Ambient Air Quality criteria, you need to investigate and address the possible source of metal in the air of your house, since it may harm the most vulnerable members of your family. If the concentration is above the occupational exposure limit, then it is dangerous to your health.
If you are interested in this test, please email us to discuss your project. You can check the current prices and place an order online by following the link above.
