Significance and Use

This practice is useful for preparing extracts from fire debris for later analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

This is a very sensitive separation procedure, capable of isolating quantities smaller than 1 ? L of ignitable liquid residue from a sample.

This practice is particularly useful when the potential for fractionation during separation must be reduced, as when attempting to distinguish between various grades of fuel oil.

This practice is particularly useful for the extraction of nonporous surfaces such as glass, or the interior of burned containers. It is also particularly well suited to the extraction of materials from very small samples.

This practice can be hampered by coincident extraction of interfering compounds present in the fire debris samples.

This practice may not be useful for the extraction of some extremely volatile ignitable liquids, which may evaporate during the concentration step.

This is a destructive technique. Whenever possible, this technique should only be used when a representative portion of the sample can be reserved for reanalysis. Those portions of the sample subjected to this procedure may not be suitable for resampling. If destruction of the sample is an issue, consider using passive headspace concentration as described in Practice E1412 .

1. Scope

1.1 This practice covers the procedure for removing small quantities of ignitable liquid residue from samples of fire debris using solvent to extract the residue.

1.2 This practice is suitable for successfully extracting ignitable liquid residues over the entire range of concentrations.

1.3 Alternate separation and concentration procedures are listed in the referenced documents (Practices E1388 , E1412 , E1413 , and E2154 ).

1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For a specific hazard statement, see 5.5.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

E1388 Practice for Sampling of Headspace Vapors from Fire Debris Samples

E1412 Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration With Activated Charcoal

E1413 Practice for Separation and Concentration of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Dynamic Headspace Concentration

E1459 Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and Related Documentation

E1492 Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory

E1618 Test Method for Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

E2154 Practice for Separation and Concentration of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration with Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME)

E2451 Practice for Preserving Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residue Extracts from Fire Debris Samples

Keywords

fire debris samples; solvent extraction; Combustible (fire) residue; Fire debris samples; Forensic investigation/analysis; Gas chromatography (GC)--forensic sciences; Hydrocarbons; Liquid residues; Oily liquid extract; Residue--fires; Solvent extraction; Water-insoluble hydrocarbons ;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 71.040.40 (Chemical analysis)

DOI: 10.1520/E1386-10

ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.

ASTM E1386