Malaysian
Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 22 No 1 (2018): 72 - 79
DOI:
10.17576/mjas-2018-2201-09
FORENSIC
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF TIME ELAPSED GASOLINE IN FIRE SCENE
INVESTIGATION
(Analisis Kromatografi Gas Forensik bagi Gasolin
yang Masanya Berlalu dalam Penyiasatan Tempat Kebakaran)
Pei Wen Lim,
Ahmad Fahmi Lim Abdullah, Kah Haw Chang*
Forensic
Science Programme, School of Health Sciences,
Universiti
Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
*Corresponding author: changkh@usm.my
Received: 25
September 2017; Accepted: 29 January 2018
Abstract
Gasoline residues present in fire debris
serves as important evidence in arson investigation. In view of safety
considerations, fire investigators do not enter fire scene immediately after
fire extinguishing activity. In this perspective, gasoline residue in burnt
carpet was analysed in relation to time elapsed after a fire to evaluate the
influence of evaporative weathering process on the detection of gasoline traces
from fire debris. Simulating fire condition, carpet samples poured with
gasoline were burned, and the fire was extinguished with water before exposure to
varying evaporation time at room temperature. All burnt carpet samples were
then extracted by hexane and analysed using gas chromatography-flame ionisation
detector. Selected peaks were then subjected to principal component analysis (PCA)
for clustering. Experimental results revealed rapid evaporation of gasoline
during the first 30 minutes, followed by continuous but non-linear decrease up
to one-month interval. Four clusters were found in the PCA plots wherein
samples that were subjected to less than nine hours exposure were located close
to positive control and could be distinguished from the rest. Hence, it is
recommended that safety measures should be completed within nine hours.
Keywords: forensic science, fire scene, gasoline
detection, gas chromatography, time elapsed
Abstrak
Kehadiran
sisa-sisa gasolin pada serpihan kebakaran ialah bukti penting dalam penyiasatan
arson. Oleh kerana pertimbangan keselamatan, penyiasat-penyiasat kebakaran
tidak memasuki tempat kejadian kebakaran sejurus selepas aktiviti pemadaman
api. Dalam perspektif ini, sisa gasolin pada permaidani terbakar telah
dianalisis untuk dikaitkan dengan masa berlalu selepas suatu kebakaran,
bertujuan untuk menilai kesan proses sejatan terhadap pengesanan gasolin surih
daripada serpihan kebakaran. Menerusi simulasi keadaan kebakaran sebenar,
sampel permaidani yang dicurahkan dengan gasolin telah dibakar, dan api
tersebut dipadamkan dengan air sebelum didedahkan kepada pelbagai tempoh penyejatan
pada suhu bilik. Kesemua sampel permaidani terbakar kemudian tertakluk kepada
pengekstrakan heksana dan dianalisis menggunakan kromatografi gas-pengesan
pengionan nyalaan. Puncak-puncak terpilih kemudiannya tertakluk kepada analisis
komponen utama (PCA) untuk tujuan pengelompokan. Keputusan eksperimen telah
menunjukkan penyejatan pesat gasolin pada 30 minit pertama, diikuti dengan
penurunan secara berterusan tidak linear sehingga tempoh satu bulan. Empat
kelompok telah diperolehi dalam plot PCA dan sampel yang didedahkan pada jangka
masa kurang daripada sembilan jam terletak berdekatan dengan kawalan positif
dan boleh dibezakan daripada yang lain. Justeru, adalah disyorkan bahawa langkah
keselamatan perlu diselesaikan dalam jangka masa sembilan jam.
Kata kunci: sains forensik, tempat kejadian kebakaran, pengesanan
gasolin, kromatografi gas, masa berlalu
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