The SciAps X-550 Pb is a handheld XRF lead paint analyzer built around an X-ray tube rather than a radioactive isotope source. Because it generates X-rays from electric current under high voltage, there is no sealed radioactive source to replace and no isotope decay to work around — the instrument does not weaken over its service life, and it emits nothing between tests or when powered off.

Readings take 2 to 6 seconds and do not slow down as the instrument ages, which is the practical difference over an isotope-based analyzer on a large housing survey. At 2.98 lb with the battery installed, it is light enough to work overhead and along trim for a full inspection day.

Applications

• EPA/HUD lead-based paint inspections — risk assessments and full inspections against the published Performance Characteristic Sheet standard.
• Pre-renovation RRP compliance testing — component-by-component clearance before renovation, repair and painting work in pre-1978 housing.
• Child-occupied facility surveys — schools and daycare buildings where an action level must be documented defensibly.
• Real estate transaction and portfolio screening — rapid, non-destructive testing across many units without paint chip sampling or laboratory turnaround.
• Lead in soil around painted structures — with the optional lead-in-soil app, for drip-line and bare-soil hazard assessment.
• Broader environmental metals work — optional Alloy, Geochem (Mining), Empirical and Environmental Metals apps extend the same instrument beyond lead paint.

Key features

• EPA/HUD compliant with no inconclusive range — Performance Characteristic Sheets are published at 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 mg/cm² action levels, so every reading resolves.
• No radioactive isotope — nothing to license as a sealed source, nothing to replace on a decay schedule, and no emission between tests or when off.
• 2 to 6 second tests that stay fast — tube output does not decay, so throughput on day one matches throughput years later.
• Five-year warranty on the X-ray tube — the component that would otherwise be the cost risk on a tube-based analyzer.
• Fully automated Quick Mode — pre-configured apps and real-time data export keep an inspector moving between components.
• Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB — with an optional cloud-based data and fleet management system for multi-instrument operations.

Full technical specifications are in the spec sheet:

Performance Characteristic Sheets

The PCS documents an XRF instrument's measured performance against a specific action level, and is what an inspector cites in a compliant report. All three are published for this analyzer:

• PCS — 0.5 mg/cm² action level
• PCS — 0.7 mg/cm² action level
• PCS — 1.0 mg/cm² action level

Purchase or rental

This analyzer is available either to buy or to rent. Both are arranged by phone rather than through the cart, and renting is a common way to cover a single large inspection contract without carrying the instrument year-round.

• Rental — the price on this page is the weekly rate. Daily and monthly rates are also available; ask when you call.
• Purchase — quoted per configuration, because the tube anode and any added apps beyond lead paint change the build and the price.

XRF instruments generate ionizing radiation and are subject to radiation-device registration and operator training requirements that vary by state and by country, and they cannot be supplied into every region. Call 1-800-468-8921 or use the CONTACT US button above, and a Geotech representative will confirm configuration, pricing, licensing and availability for your location.