It identifies elements
« Arsenic present » is not « Paris green »: confirming the compound is a matter for Raman or a micro-sample.
Health and heritage collections
Tracing an exposure back to its source
When exposure to heavy metals has been established by health professionals, the next question is always the same: where does it come from? Old paint, dust on the floor, an everyday object, the binding of a nineteenth-century book — the answer is found by measuring, not by guessing.
X-ray fluorescence checks the surfaces of a home or the volumes of a collection without taking a single sample. We measure materials; health interpretation belongs to healthcare professionals.
Non-destructive
On irreplaceable objects
A few seconds
Per measurement point
30+
Years of experience
Blood lead levels
Finding the source, not just recording the exposure
Once a doctor has established a raised blood lead level, the question is where the lead comes from. Old paint, dust settled on floors, pipework, objects brought home: identifying the source means measuring many points, fast, and without damaging the premises.
The Notre-Dame de Paris fire was a reminder of what a massive lead dispersal in an urban setting represents — and of the volume of measurements it imposes.
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Finding the source of raised blood lead levels
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Analysis of lead dust on floors, before and after works
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Lead in paint and building surveys
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Verifying the encapsulation of lead paint
Historic collections
Arsenic, mercury and bromine in books
Nineteenth-century publishers' bindings were coloured with Scheele's green and Paris green, arsenical copper compounds. Mercury from vermilion and bromine from certain dyes are found alongside them.
After the German libraries, the BnF placed four works in quarantine, and the French ministry for higher education published prevention recommendations in March 2025. The difficulty is not the risk, which the BnF describes as very moderate: it is knowing which volumes are concerned within a collection of several hundred thousand.
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Detecting arsenic in books: Scheele's green, Paris green, Schweinfurt green, copper acetoarsenite
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Detecting mercury and bromine in books
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Detecting heavy metals in enamels: goldsmithing, watchmaking
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Material testing of prostheses and implantable materials
Buildings, lead and pollutants
Building surveys, lead dust, contaminated sediments, asbestos: X-ray fluorescence for metals, polarised light microscopy for asbestos.
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Calibrated in Switzerland
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Repaired in Switzerland
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Custom adjustments
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Local support
A home or a collection to check?
We measure suspect surfaces and objects, and introduce you to the lead analyser suited to your checks.