Person-portable equipment in environmental forensic investigations: application to fire scenes

Lam, Rylee; Lennard, Chris; Kingsland, Graham; Johnstone, Paul; Symons, Andrew; Wythes, Laura; Fewtrell, Jeremy; O’Brien, David; Spikmans, Val

doi:10.1080/00450618.2018.1424242

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Water sampling and analysis in the field can also be performed using SPME followed by portable GC‐MS analysis. This has been demonstrated for a range of applications, including hazardous compounds (Contreras et al, ) and for the analysis of compounds present in water runoff from fire scenes (Lam et al, ).…”

Section: Field‐portable Equipment and Its Role In Environmental Forenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of field-portable equipment and its suitability is largely dependent on the scenario. Such equipment is ideally suited for fast intelligence gathering in the field (Kalnicky & Singhvi, 2001;Lam et al, 2018), and this equipment has its most valuable application in emergency scenarios, where rapid identification of often unknown contaminants is required (Galuszka et al, 2015;Hook, Kimm, Hall, & Smith, 2002;Kaljurand, 2014;Mulligan et al, 2006;Valcárcel & Cárdenas, 2005). Without field-portable equipment, emergency response is highly reliant on the site investigator's capabilities and their visual interpretation of the scene (Spikmans, 2015).…”

Section: Proactive Rather Than Reactivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water sampling and analysis in the field can also be performed using SPME followed by portable GC-MS analysis. This has been demonstrated for a range of applications, including hazardous compounds (Contreras et al, 2008) and for the analysis of compounds present in water runoff from fire scenes (Lam et al, 2018). Eckenrode (2001) pointed out that the portable GC-MS can play an important role in providing first responder safety by being able to identify pollutants, allowing appropriate risk assessment to be conducted for an unknown site upon arrival.…”

Section: Portable Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of environmental forensics: From laboratory to field analysis

Spikmans

2019

WIREs Forensic Science

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Environmental forensics aims to provide investigations into pollution incidents to establish the source of the pollution and any environmental or human health impacts. Casework is strongly reliant on field investigations and subsequent laboratory‐based analysis for confirmation of pollutants present. Current advances in field‐portable instrumentation are shaping the environmental forensics discipline and provide an evolutionary change in the operational capabilities of environmental investigators. The implementation of field‐portable equipment into the environmental investigative framework provides great advances and opportunities, but also needs to be performed with caution to ensure reliable results. Combining the use of field‐portable instrumentation with small mobile forensic laboratories provides for a rapid and flexible emergency response capability that can also be applied to non‐emergency scenarios to aid pollution mapping and tracking, including source determination. The field‐portable equipment can be used in the controlled environment of the mobile laboratory, but can also be used in‐situ where required. Although field‐portable equipment is not likely to replace laboratory‐based analysis methods in the near future, it does provide important intelligence to the field investigator, resulting in a more targeted and detailed investigation of the scene. This allows for a more focussed laboratory‐based investigation and will result in more rapid and appropriate investigations into environmental incidents. Ultimately, this will ensure a better protection of the environment and human health. This article is categorized under: Forensic Chemistry and Trace Evidence < Forensic Food and Environment Analysis

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Section: Field‐portable Equipment and Its Role In Environmental Forenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Proactive Rather Than Reactivementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Portable Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of environmental forensics: From laboratory to field analysis

Spikmans

2019

WIREs Forensic Science

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“…Through the use of person-portable instrumentation, it is possible for first responders to receive active intelligence on the release of water-borne pollutants from fire scenes [12]. This type of information gives first responders and environmental protection agencies actionable intelligence for proactive and targeted environmental and human health risk management and protection strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid on-site identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes using person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)–part 2: water sampling and analysis

Lam

Lennard

Kingsland

et al. 2019

Forensic Sciences Research

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“…Additionally, the smaller footprint of portable instrumentation compared to their laboratory-based, "benchtop" counterparts allows for transportation to locales of interest. A review of current literature shows particularly high activity in regards to portable MS instrumentation and application development amongst the environmental [3,4], forensic [5][6][7][8][9] and defense [10,11] communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Low-Cost, Simplified Platform of Interchangeable, Ambient Ionization Sources for Rapid, Forensic Evidence Screening on Portable Mass Spectrometric Instrumentation

et al. 2018

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Portable mass spectrometers (MS) are becoming more prevalent due to improved instrumentation, commercialization, and the robustness of new ionization methodologies. To increase utility towards diverse field-based applications, there is an inherent need for rugged ionization source platforms that are simple, yet robust towards analytical scenarios that may arise. Ambient ionization methodologies have evolved to target specific real-world problems and fulfill requirements of the analysis at hand. Ambient ionization techniques continue to advance towards higher performance, with specific sources showing variable proficiency depending on application area. To realize the full potential and applicability of ambient ionization methods, a selection of sources may be more prudent, showing a need for a low-cost, flexible ionization source platform. This manuscript describes a centralized system that was developed for portable MS systems that incorporates modular, rapidly-interchangeable ionization sources comprised of low-cost, commercially-available parts. Herein, design considerations are reported for a suite of ambient ionization sources that can be crafted with minimal machining or customization. Representative spectral data is included to demonstrate applicability towards field processing of forensic evidence. While this platform is demonstrated on portable instrumentation, retrofitting to lab-scale MS systems is anticipated.

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Person-portable equipment in environmental forensic investigations: application to fire scenes

Cited by 6 publications

References 19 publications

The evolution of environmental forensics: From laboratory to field analysis

The evolution of environmental forensics: From laboratory to field analysis

Rapid on-site identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes using person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)–part 2: water sampling and analysis

A Low-Cost, Simplified Platform of Interchangeable, Ambient Ionization Sources for Rapid, Forensic Evidence Screening on Portable Mass Spectrometric Instrumentation

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