Information Resources in New England

EPA Test Methods

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What are test methods?

Test methods are approved procedures for measuring the presence and concentration of physical and chemical pollutants; evaluating properties, such as toxic properties, of chemical substances; or measuring the effects of substances under various conditions.

How to find EPA Test Methods

Download the April 2003 edition of Index to EPA Test Methods (PDF) (85 pp., 1.42 MB) including links to those methods which are available on the Internet.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Index to EPA Test Methods

Links to Sources of EPA Test Methods on the Internet

Test method currently approved by EPA.

• Method for the Determination of Asbestos in Bulk Building Materials, EPA 600-R-93-116
  • Part 1 (PDF)
    (46 pp., 3.8 MB)
  • Part 2 (PDF)
    (54 pp., 3.6 MB)

Selected test methods from the EPA Region 1 collection that are NOT currently approved by EPA.

• Method 501.1  Analysis of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water by the Purge and Trap Method, November 1979 (PDF)
  (15pp., 41 KB)
• Method 501.2  Analysis of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water by Liquid/Liquid Extraction, November 1979 (PDF)
  (12 pp., 35 KB)
• Method 501.3  Analysis of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water with Gas Chromatography/Mass Sepctrometry and Selected Ion Monitoring (PDF)
  (19 pp., 50 KB)
• Method 510.1 Determination of the Maximum Total Trihalomethane Potential, 1982, EPA 600-4-81-044 (PDF)
  (18 pp., 417 KB)
• Method 909 Determination of Lead-210 in Drinking Water, EMSL 1982, 01A0004860 (PDF)
  (12 pp., 298 KB)
• Method 910 Determination of Thorium in Drinking Water, EMSL 1982, 01A0004860 (PDF)
  (9 pp., 308 KB)
• Method 911 Determination of Plutonium in Drinking Water, EMSL, 01A0004860 (PDF)
  (6 pp., 173 KB)
• Method 912, Determination of Polonium-210 in Drinking Water by Alpha Particle Counting, EMSL 1983, 01A0004860 (PDF)
  (8 pp., 276 KB)
• Method 913 Draft Determination of Radon in Drinking Water by Liquid Scintillation Counting, EMSL 1991, 01A0006252 (PDF)
  (12 pp., 349 KB)
• Compendium of Methods for the Determination of Air Pollutants in Indoor Air, EPA 600-4-90-010
  • Part 1 (PDF)
    (468 pp., 44 MB)
  • Part 2 (PDF)
    (402 pp., 38 MB)
• Draft Analytical Methods for Determination of Asbestos in Vermiculite and Vermiculite-Containing Products, Chatfield Technical Consulting, 2005, 01A0008485 (PDF)
  (59 pp., 2.8 MB)
• Draft Methodology for the Measurement of Airborne Asbestos by Electron Microscopy, July 1984. O1A0006408
  • Part 1 (PDF)
    (60 pp., 2.3 MB)
  • Part 2 (PDF)
    (52 pp., 2.2 MB)
• AmesTest: Interim Procedures for Conducting the Salmonella/Microsomal Mutagenicity Assay, EPA 600/4-82-068 (PDF)
  (38 pp., 3.91 MB)
• Alternative to RSK 175: Analysis of Dissolved Methane, Ethane, and Ethylene in Ground Water by a Standard Gas Chromatographic Technique (PDF)
  (4 pp., 315 KB)
• RSKSOP-175 Sample Preparation and Calculations for Dissolved Gas Analysis in Water Samples Using a GC Headspace Equilibration Technique (PDF)
  (14 pp., 320 KB)
• RSK-194 Standard Operating Procedure for Gas Analysis by Micro Gas Chromatographs (PDF)
  (9 pp., 916 KB)
• 1618: Method 1618: Organo-Halide Pesticides, Organo-phosphorus Pesticides, and Phenoxy-Acid Herbicides by Wide Bore Capillary Column Gas Chromatography with Selective Detectors, 01A0006086 (PDF)
  (38 pp., 1.55 MB)
• Method 282.3: Determination of Tributyltin Chloride in Marine and Fresh Waters by Liquid-Solid Extraction (LSE) and Gas Chromatography with Electron-Capture Detection (GC/ECD), 01A0006709 (PDF)
  (41 pp., 3.55 MB)
• Method for Measuring Sediment Oxygen Demand Using a Bench Model Benthic Respirometer, 01A0006379 (PDF)
  (6 pp., 166 KB)
• Protocol for Screening Soil and Sediment Samples for Asbestos Content Used by the EPA Region 1 Laboratory, 01A0007115 (PDF)
  (6 pp., 296 KB)