Arson accelerant analysis by attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy, /

Abstract

Arson is a serious problem both locally and nationally. In 1994, the National Fire Protection Association reported over 100,000 arson fires with over $1.2 billion in damages and 550 deaths. Locally, in 1996, Youngstown had 326 arson fires with almost $4.0 million in damages and five deaths. Often these fires are accelerated by flammable materials. Organic, petroleum-based, non-water soluble solvents, such as gasoline, can be detected at very low concentrations after an intense fire by several well developed techniques. However, water soluble solvents, such as methyl (wood), ethyl (grain), and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol have proven to be difficult to analyze. Not only does the water used to extinguish the fire wash away the accelerant by convection, it also disperses it by dissolution. Additionally, most techniques used for analysis require organic solvents to dissolve the materials to be analyzed. Since the accelerants to be studied are in water, they would need to be extracted with organic solvents reducing their concentration further. Attenuated Total Reflectance Spectroscopy (ATR), a relatively sensitive and selective technique, was used to perform analysis on these water-soluble accelerants. Concentration gradient experiments, time controlled burn experiments, and field-controlled burns were performed with detectability in more than 75% ofthe samples. Most tests were on carpet samples, but some tests were on cloth samples as well. Using ATR has proven to be an ideal way to handle those situations where a watersoluble accelerant needs to be detected.