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A qualitative chemical screening method for lead in wipe samples was evaluated for its utility in detecting the presence of lead in collected dust; preliminary evaluation of the performance of the method is reported here. In evaluating the method on pure lead compounds, the observed intensity of the characteristic color change due to the presence of lead was generally consistent with the relative solubilities of the tested compounds. Some pure (non-lead) metal compounds (e.g., those of Ag, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Hg, and Sr) were found to give false positive results. Several representative lead-containing reference materials were also tested, and the qualitative test results differed for different materials. For materials collected on wipes, the method was found to be effective for detecting lead in several sample matrices commonly found in occupational settings. The technique was also applied on-site on dermal samples collected at field locations.