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A Study of Background Levels of Antimony, Barium, and Lead on Vehicle Surface Samples by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption
Author(s) -
Comanescu Mircea A.,
Millett Tiffany J.,
Kubic Thomas A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13899
Subject(s) - graphite furnace atomic absorption , antimony , graphite , barium , materials science , atomic absorption spectroscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , cartridge , chemistry , metallurgy , environmental chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Law enforcement agencies routinely sample for gunshot residue ( GSR ) by bulk techniques and often submit swabs taken from other surfaces besides the hands of the suspect shooter. This study aims to establish the prevalence of antimony, barium, and lead on normally handled automobile surfaces by graphite furnace atomic absorption analysis. No positives were determined on 50 sampled automobile surfaces above cutoff (positive) from background levels. Transfers of GSR particles from shooter hands to automobile surfaces were found to potentially allow for positive GSR determinations, but such transfers seem to be dependent on the shooting conditions and length of GSR exposure. We determined that our bulk analysis method yields an overall 87.94 ± 5.52% extraction efficiency from cotton swabs, while the LOQ determinations strengthening the fact that bulk analysis methods are valid and valuable tools for GSR investigations.