>>  would say a new package started on foundation in one of these areas
suffice? 

>  you would first have to find some foundation free of chemical
contaminants.

I don't see why one could not run a sample of the foundation through the
same lab one used to look at residues, and thereby get a "baseline" reading
of the comb contaminants to temper the eventual comb contamination level
read after a season or two.

With comb contaminants low enough, one gets zeroes in tests of adult bees
and honey, which indicates to me that the comb contamination issue is
nothing but an ethics issue for the bee supply houses, who should screen wax
before including it in their foundation.  And I'd rather put on a pollen
trap to get a pollen sample, as this eliminates the hive environment from
the equation, moreso when one uses one of the top-mount pollen traps, to
eliminate the chance of debris from the hive getting into the pollen.

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