Development of a Novel Home Test Method to Quantitatively Detect Lead in Water

Overview

Lead contamination in drinking water is a significant public health concern. Cities throughout the country still have drinking water with lead levels higher than 15 ppb- the nationwide EPA standard. There is currently no inexpensive, quantitative test for lead in water. The purpose of this research is to develop a novel home test method for lead in water utilizing sodium rhodizonate, a chemical compound that reacts with lead to form a red precipitate. Colorimetric analysis can determine the concentration of a chemical contaminant in a solution. The hypothesis of this research is that colorimetric analysis of water, using sodium rhodizonate as the reagent, will be a quick, accurate, affordable, and quantitative method to test for lead in water. A concentration-absorbance calibration curve was created by colorimetrically analyzing five solutions of water with varying concentrations of lead: 15 to 95 ppb. These solutions were analyzed using a free mobile color analyzer application. A value for green light being transmitted was found (G value). This value was used to calculate the absorbance of red light: “Absorbance = -log(GUnknown / G0)”. Cincinnati EPA water samples with unknown concentrations of lead were then analyzed using the calibration curve. The range in differences between calculated and actual concentrations was 1-13 ppb. All samples with a level of lead >15 ppb were calculated to have this concentration. The cost of test was calculated to be $36/12 tests - approximately $3 per test. These results show this novel home test to be quick, accurate, affordable, and quantitative.

Competition history

• AJAS 2020 Category not listed

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