Decompositional Odor Analysis Database

Abstract

This study, conducted at the University of Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility (ARF), describes the establishment of the Decompositional Odor Analysis (DOA) Database for the purpose of developing a man-portable, chemical sensor capable of detecting clandestine burial sites of human remains, thereby mimicking canine olfaction. This “living” database currently spans the first year and a half of burial, providing identification, chemical trends and semi-quantitation of chemicals liberated below, above and at the surface of graves 1.5 to 3.5 ft deep (0.45 to 1.0 m) for four individuals. Triple sorbent traps (TSTs) were used to collect air samples in the field and revealed eight major classes of chemicals containing 424 specific volatile compounds associated with burial decomposition. This research is the first step toward identification of an “odor signature” unique to human decomposition with projected ramifications on cadaver dog training procedures and in the development of field portable analytical instruments which can be used to locate human remains buried in shallow graves.

Forensic Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds from Decomposed Remains in a Soil Environment

“…VOCs can be generally defi ned as any compound with an appreciable vapour pressure and can have a variety of chemical properties (ASTM International 2004 ). The degradation of soft tissue produces hundreds of decomposition VOCs from numerous chemical classes including alcohols, aldehydes, alkanes/alkenes, aromatics, carboxylic acids, esters, ethers, halogens, ketones, nitrogen and sulfur compounds (Vass et al 2004 ;Statheropoulos et al 2005Statheropoulos et al , 2007Boumba et al 2008 ;Vass et al 2008 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2009 ;DeGreeff and Furton 2011 ;Paczkowski and Schutz 2011 ;Statheropoulos et al 2011 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ;Cablk et al 2012 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2012 ;Stadler et al 2013 ). Although similar chemical classes have been reported in a variety of studies the complexity of these samples has precluded the complete characterisation of decomposition odour (Statheropoulos et al 2011 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2012 ).…”

“…Many studies have determined that decomposition odour is dynamic and changes its composition over time (Vass et al 2004 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2009 ;Statheropoulos et al 2011 ;Cablk et al 2012 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2012 ;Stadler et al 2013 ). All stages of decomposition produce VOCs, however outside the use of human analogues; few studies have monitored decomposition headspace throughout soft tissue decomposition.…”

“…The high degree of variability in the reported compounds is in part due to the range of decomposition environments studied. Decomposition VOCs have been analysed from buried remains and grave soil (Vass et al 2004(Vass et al , 2008Brasseur et al 2012 ;Vass 2012 ), deposition on the soil surface (Dekeirsschieter et al 2009Stadler et al 2013 ), case studies from aqueous environments (Statheropoulos et al 2005(Statheropoulos et al , 2007), enclosed spaces (Statheropoulos et al 2011 ) and individual tissue samples (Hoffman et al 2009 ;Cablk et al 2012 ;). Each of these environments has a unique set of environmental conditions that will affect the production and availability of VOCs.…”

“…However, the interaction between VOCs and the environment also dictates which compounds are available within the headspace of decomposition. The majority of decomposition VOC studies have been conducted within soil environments (Vass et al 2004(Vass et al , 2008Dekeirsschieter et al 2009 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2012 ;Stadler et al 2013 ) however the impact of the soil on the overall profi le has received little attention. In a burial situation, the compounds produced by the remains must travel through the soil column in order to be available at the surface for olfaction/detection (Vass et al 2004 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ).…”

“…The majority of decomposition VOC studies have been conducted within soil environments (Vass et al 2004(Vass et al , 2008Dekeirsschieter et al 2009 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ;Dekeirsschieter et al 2012 ;Stadler et al 2013 ) however the impact of the soil on the overall profi le has received little attention. In a burial situation, the compounds produced by the remains must travel through the soil column in order to be available at the surface for olfaction/detection (Vass et al 2004 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ). The migration of compounds is affected by the properties of the soil such as soil type, moisture content and pH but also by the properties of the compound itself (Vass et al 2004 ;Statheropoulos et al 2007 ;Brasseur et al 2012 ;Vass 2012 ).…”