NCJ Number
88835
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Forensic activation analysis (FAA), the application of neutron activation analysis in forensic science, can be useful in the analysis of hair, metal fragments, glass, soil, toxicology, bullet hole identification, shooting distance determination, and gunshot residue on hands that have fired a gun.
Abstract
FAA of hair is undertaken only under circumstances where little corroborative evidence is available and the hair has been collected within a short time after the crime incident. In the analysis of metal fragments, FAA is most effective as a general purpose analysis technique for matching precise concentrations of several trace metals at parts per million level. For glass analysis, if density and refractive index measurements of the control and evidence samples yield similar values and if no other corroborative evidence is available, then FAA can be done profitably on the glass sample. FAA can be used for soil analysis in special circumstances where little or no other corroborative evidence is available and the conventional examination of control and evidence samples gives similar results. The role of FAA in the detection of heavy metal poisoning, such as arsenic, is well established, and the high sensitivity of the technique affords the analysis of very small samples. FAA can determine whether or not a hole has been caused by a bullet by identifying the antimony content on the material at and around the hole, and FAA can also determine shooting distance by analyzing the concentration pattern of antimony around the bullet hole produced at different firing distances. The detection of gunshot residue on the hands of a person who has recently fired a weapon has been done with significant success by FAA through its identification of antimony and barium. Twelve footnotes are provided.