Oil Dries Used in Arson Scenes: New Absorbent Material
Abstract
The presence of an accelerant is hard to determine because fire can destroy this evidence, therefore it is crucial to obtain as much information as possible from the scene if arson is suspected. Usually only trace amounts of the accelerant may be left behind after the fire. It can be collected from a variety of materials, but hard inert materials such as thick timber or concrete make collection difficult. These two substances are very hard, non-porous and areas may be large making it difficult to obtain samples for laboratory analysis. Research was done to see if oil dries, commonly used for hazardous material collection, can be used at an arson scene to collect trace amounts of accelerants. Initially several brands of oil dries were tested to determine whether recovery is possible. With recovery the level of detection and identification was determined by gas chromatography. This helped investigators collect samples from inert and hard to collect materials such as concrete.
Oil Dries Used in Arson Scenes: New Absorbent Material
The presence of an accelerant is hard to determine because fire can destroy this evidence, therefore it is crucial to obtain as much information as possible from the scene if arson is suspected. Usually only trace amounts of the accelerant may be left behind after the fire. It can be collected from a variety of materials, but hard inert materials such as thick timber or concrete make collection difficult. These two substances are very hard, non-porous and areas may be large making it difficult to obtain samples for laboratory analysis. Research was done to see if oil dries, commonly used for hazardous material collection, can be used at an arson scene to collect trace amounts of accelerants. Initially several brands of oil dries were tested to determine whether recovery is possible. With recovery the level of detection and identification was determined by gas chromatography. This helped investigators collect samples from inert and hard to collect materials such as concrete.