This publication reports the preliminary findings from a field study to recover samples of post-blast explosives from controlled detonations for the development of forensic examinations that can attribute signatures from post-blast debris to the signatures of pre-blast explosive materials for use in future investigations.
The field study reported in this paper was conducted in order to provide proof-of-concept for the development of forensic examination methodologies that can attribute signatures from post-blast debris to signatures in pre-blast explosive materials. The project aimed to recover samples of post-blast explosives from controlled detonations of ammonium nitrate-aluminum (AN-AI) which were analyzed via isotope mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for quantification and profiling of isotopes ratio and trace element signatures. Trace element results from AN-AI support the findings of the isotope ratio data, with 26 elements detected in both pre- and post-blast samples, and several elements, including B, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, V, and Zn showing considerable overlap.