Evaluation of arsenic field test kits for drinking water analysis

It is estimated that nearly 4,000 US water utilities are affected by the Arsenic Rule - which lowered the maximum contaminant level for arsenic from 50 to 10 μg/L - and that many of these are small systems lacking both in-house analytical capabilities or funds for external analysis. In response to this need, several field kits are now commercially available for arsenic analysis. This research tested seven arsenic field test kits for accuracy, precision, linearity, expense, and ease of use. Of the testing kits evaluated, the LaMotte, Quick II, and TraceDetect kits produced reliable results and could be used for noncompliance sampling in most drinking waters containing arsenic, The LaMotte and Quick II kits were inexpensive to use and could be performed by operators with minimum training. The TraceDetect kit, with its higher initial cost and need for an experience technican, could be a viable choice for medium and large utilities or contracted vendors of arsenic point-of-use devices. - MPM.