What it means. XRF is not the name of hipster rock band or a new "miracle" diet pill. Rather, this abbreviation stands for x-ray fluorescence, a technique used to detect the presence of elements like lead, cadmium, and arsenic in toys, paints, and other consumer products. If an element is present in a product, an XRF analyzer stirs it up with x-rays and measures the fluorescence activity to determine its relative level. XRF also has industrial and environmental uses.

Why the buzz? As we reported in the December 2007 issue of Consumer Reports and as you might have read in news stories over the last year, a rising number of consumer goods have been found to contain dangerous levels of lead. X-ray fluorescence has become a part of the efforts to get these hazardous products off the market. Armed with XRF analyzers, public-health officials, advocacy groups, and responsible manufacturers are able to rapidly screen goods for lead and other harmful elements.

XRF machines like the model shown are pricey, costing upward of $35,000, so you won't find them at a nearby home center. But you can hire a lead professional to perform an XRF test on paint and soil in and around your home. Note that homes built before 1978, when lead paint was banned, are very likely to harbor lead somewhere, sometimes buried, in the walls, woodwork or soil and exterior siding. To find a testing company in your area, go to www.epa.gov/lead (click on "lead professionals") or call the National Lead Information Center at 800-424-5323.

With all the news about lead in toys and other products, the market for home lead-test kits is growing. Home-use lead test kits, while far more limited than XRF, are another way you can find sources of lead in your home. These kits detect only surface, or accessible, lead, not lead embedded below the surface. For more information, read our September 2008 review of lead and radon test kits. (Note that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises against using these kits for the screening of toys, jewelry, and other consumer products.)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the EPA have found that lead test kits can be effective in identifying lead paint when used correctly. Although, as our tests confirmed, they don't measure the levels of lead present, which, in some cases could be below the federal standards in some positive tests.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Read this post from the Consumer Reports Safety blog about Jeffrey Weidenhamer, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at Ashland University who's been instrumental in raising public awareness about consumer products with high lead levels. And learn how to deal with lead paint in your home.