Efficacy of a lead based paint XRF analyzer and a commercially available colorimetric lead test kit as qualitative field tools for determining presence of lead in religious powders.

The performances of a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) lead paint analyzer (RMD LPA-1, Protec Instrument Corp., Waltham, MA) and a commercially available colorimetric lead test kit (First Alert Lead Test Kit, eAccess Solutions, Inc., Palatine, IL) were evaluated for use by local or state health departments as potential cost-effective rapid analysis or "spot test" field techniques for tentative identification of lead content in sindoor powders.

Lead Content of Sindoor, a Hindu Religious Powder and Cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015.

Objectives: To assess the extent of lead content of sindoor, a powder used by Hindus for religious and cultural purposes, which has been linked to childhood lead poisoning when inadvertently ingested.

Methods: We purchased 95 samples of sindoor from 66 South Asian stores in New Jersey and 23 samples from India and analyzed samples with atomic absorption spectrophotometry methods for lead.

Results: Analysis determined that 79 (83.