Equipment and materials:

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Presented by Suliman Atallah
University Of Huddersfield Ministry Of
Interior -Libya SULIMAN8686_at_YAHOO.CO.UK
Each point represents a peak in the chromatograph
normalised with respect to the largest peak and
showing how the ratio in peak sizes varies
between the liquid and the vapour. No petrol
residues were found on any of the pieces of
burnt clothes.
Aims

• Method
• The studies on fire debris utilised petrol and
  white spirit which were placed on clothes samples
  (7.5cm x 9.5cm) and burnt under fixed
  conditions.
• Residues were collected in nylon bags for
  analysis.
• Sample analysis was carried out using 1 µl
  injections, a temperature program of 40C/min
  from 50 C to 230 C with an initial 2 minute
  hold.
• The helium gas flow rate was 25ml/min
  (split120) and a detector temperature of 330 C.

Introduction Arson is the main cause of
fire, which costs the UK an estimated 2
billion a year. The majority of arson attacks in
the UK are on residential properties. Each year
there are about 87,095 attacks on homes, which
kill 65 people and injure 2010. (1) Forensic
fire investigation involves the detection of
accelerant residue in fire debris that has been
collected from a fire scene.(2) This study will
focus on the effectiveness of manual and
automated HS-GC in detecting fuel in accelerants

• Discussion and Conclusion
• The chromatograph of the liquid and the
  headspace of a pure accelerant were very
  different. The less volatile components were not
  detected using headspace.
• Manual / automated headspace injection gave a
  better resolution result with the BPX-5 column
  rather than the BP-20 column.
• Reliable analysis of arson accelerants is
  limited with GC-FID, as peaks cannot be
  identified. GC-MS would be a better instrument
  where each component in the mixture can be
  identified.

• Equipment and materials
• Varian 3900 gas chromatography and
  Auto-headspace Agilent 7697, in conjunction with
  8690 Gas chromatography, were fitted with a
  flame ionization detector and capillary column.
  
• Two columns were used and compared BP20 (polar)
  and BPX-5 (non-polar). Both columns were 25 m in
  length with a 320 um bore.
• The accelerants studied included petrol, white
  spirit, aviation fuel, kerosene, diesel and pure
  turpentine.

• References
• www.devon.cornwall.police.uk/YourRightInformation/
  FreedomInformation/Lists/DisclosureLogs.
• Recent advances in the applications of forensic
  science to fire debris analysis, J. Dolan , 2003,
  published by Springer-Verlag USA.
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