Citation

Abdul-Karim N, Morgan R, Binions R, Temple T, Harrison K. J. Forensic Sci. 2013; 58(2): 365-371.

Affiliation

Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, 35 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ, U.K; Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Laboratories, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, U.K.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.12045

PMID

23278671

Abstract

Locating exactly where trace explosive residue samples should be sought during sample collection at bomb scenes is not specified in the published literature or guidelines; in this area, it is generally acknowledged that forensic practices are based on tradition rather than evidence. This study investigated patterns in the spatial distribution of postblast 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazocyclohexane residue from a series of unconfined detonations, over a range of sampling sites, and at two different detonation heights. The amount of residue recovered from the sites increased as a function of distance from the center of the explosion. As the height of the detonations increased, more residues were found from all sampling sites. The findings of this empirical study have a number of important practical implications including determining where residue samples are best sought at crime scenes.

Language: en