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Gasoline on hands: preliminary study on collection and persistence.
Melinda Darrer1, Joëlle Jacquemet-Papilloud, Olivier Delémont
1Police cantonale vaudoise, Centre de la Blécherette, CH-1014 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Forensic Science International
|August 24, 2007
Summary
Collecting gasoline traces from hands is crucial for arson investigations. PVC gloves and filter paper efficiently collect gasoline, which significantly evaporates within 30 minutes.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Science
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Identifying arsonists is challenging.
- Detecting gasoline traces links suspects to arson scenes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate methods for collecting gasoline from hands.
- Assess gasoline persistence on skin over time.
Main Methods:
- Tested PVC, PE, Latex gloves, and filter paper for gasoline collection.
- Assessed gasoline persistence on hands using PVC gloves at various time points (0-4 hours).
Main Results:
- Latex gloves, PVC gloves, and filter paper showed efficient gasoline collection.
- Gasoline significantly evaporated from hands within 30 minutes, with continued non-linear decrease.
Conclusions:
- PVC gloves are a practical choice for gasoline collection from hands.
- Gasoline detection on hands requires prompt collection due to rapid evaporation.
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