NCJ Number
58393
Date Published
1978
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EXPLOSIVES DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION FOCUSES ON DETECTION METHODS BEGINNING WITH EARLY CHEMICAL VAPOR DETECTION.
Abstract
DURING THE PAST 10 YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CRIMINAL BOMBINGS USING EXPLOSIVES, ALONG WITH A STEADY GROWTH IN NONMILITARY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELDS OF EXPLOSIVE DETECTION, IDENTIFICATION, AND DISTRIBUTION CONTROL. BEFORE THE DETECTION OF EXPLOSIVES CAN BE ADDRESSED, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EXPLOSIVES MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF SUCH CHARACTERISTICS AS THE VAPOR PRESSURE OF VARIOUS EXPLOSIVES. THESE CHARACTERISTICS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TYPES OF DETECTION EQUIPMENT WHICH CAN BE DEVELOPED. AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF CONSIDERABLE CONTROVERSY IS THE MEANS BY WHICH DETECTOR DEVICES ARE CALIBRATED. A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM, FOLLOWED BY AN INGENIOUS APPLICATION OF HYDRODYNAMICS, HAS RECENTLY RESULTED IN WHAT MAY BE A MAJOR ADVANCE IN CALIBRATION CAPABILITY. THERE ARE A VARIETY OF AVAILABLE VAPOR DETECTION TECHNIQUES INCLUDING ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE IONIZATION/MASS SPECTROMETRY AND LASER FLUORESCENCE. IDENTIFICATION METHODS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THOSE THAT PROVIDE TRACING CAPABILITY AND THOSE THAT PROVIDE ONLY POSTDETONATION IDENTIFICATION OF THE EXPLOSIVE INGREDIENTS. IN USING VARIOUS METHODS OF TAGGING FOR IDENTIFICATION AND TRACING, THE CONFLICTING REQUIREMENTS IN SURVIVABILITY AND LACK OF SENSITIZATION IN EXPLOSIVES MUST BE CONSIDERED. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN RESIDUE ANALYSIS HAVE CENTERED AROUND LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY, CHEMICAL IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY, THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY, AND SOLVENT EXTRACTION AND CONCENTRATING METHODS. A SUMMARY OF IDENTIFICATION TAGGANT PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--(KCP)