Abstract:
Arson is very difficult to prosecute due to the lack of physical evidence
associating a suspect to the crime. An important aspect of an investigation of a
suspected arsonist involves the analysis of residue and/or debris on the hands of the
suspect near/at the fire scene. In this study, the extraction, separation and identification
of various flammable solvent residues (FSR) on a human hand was investigated. The
flammable samples, which may be used for igniting a fire, are gasohol, gasoline,
diesel, kerosene and thinner, which can be obtained from many suppliers.
Dichloromethane (Dcm) was used to extract the residues from the cotton swab used to
wipe the residues from the suspects hand. The separation and identification of FSR
was carried out by GC/MS technique. In addition, a study of the length of time that a
FSR could be detected on the hand was also carried out.
Gasohol and gasoline (91 and 95) could not be separately identified. They all
have characteristic peaks eluting at 2.19 and 3.83 min., respectively, with identifying
patterns of the total ion chromatogram (TIC) in the two time ranges, 2-4.5 and at 6-9
min., respectively. For diesel, the characteristic peaks are at 12.70, 13.24 and 13.75
min.. The unique pattern of TIC between 6-17 min. is that of an overturned bell.
Kerosene is identified by peaks at 9.38, 10.18 and 10.87 min., respectively, with a
unique pattern of TIC in the range 2-11 min.. For thinner, peaks at 2.19 and 4.77 min.
are used as the criteria with an identifying pattern of TIC in the 2-5 min. time range.
Gasohol, gasoline and thinner, kerosene and diesel could not be detected on a
suspects hand after 2,120 and 480 min., respectively.