Contamination with explosives in analytical laboratory procedure.

The philosophy underlying the procedure with the trace from the moment of the securing of the evidence up to its ultimate inspection is of significance for the result achieved. Hands of the people who conduct investigative action or of the experts involved in examinations contaminated with explosives may adversely affect results of the analyses. The contamination effect is one of the most dangerous consequences of non-observance of the strict rules in handling the traces secured on the crime scene. The aim of this research work was to examine whether at all, and if so, with what an ease and at which stage of the analytical procedure there occurs a likely contamination of the evidence material with explosives such as TNT, RDX, PETN, NG. The analytical procedure employed consisted of the sampling stage, extraction from gauze swab, transfer of the extract and execution of an instrumental analysis based on gas chromatography with electron capture detector (ECD). The most significant contamination effect was observed during the analytical procedure for TNT, followed by a similar, yet less pronounced, for RDX and PETN. Contaminating the research material with nitroglycerin, known to be liquid under normal conditions, proved unsuccessful.

Detection of Contact Traces of Powdery Substances.

The current practice in securing the contact traces of chemical substances taken from clothes belonging to a person suspected of manual handling explosives is focused on pockets and cuffs. The outerwear worn by people who had contact with fluorescent powders that simulate explosives and drugs was the subject of this study. Clothes were first exposed to the test substance for a period of time and then analyzed by fluorescence methods to determine the location of the highest quantity of traces. The results obtained from the study confirm that the areas with the highest concentration of powdery traces are different from those suggested by current forensic practice. They appear to be promising for a more efficient identification of the suspects involved in illegal manufacturing of drugs of abuse or explosives. Moreover, they may be helpful for developing the methodology for handling the evidence material in the forensic clothing examination process.