THE USE OF ACTIVATED-CHARCOAL STRIPS FOR FIRE DEBRIS EXTRACTIONS BY PASSIVE DIFFUSION .1. THE EFFECTS OF TIME, TEMPERATURE, STRIP SIZE, ANDSAMPLE CONCENTRATION

The introduction of commercially produced activated charcoal strips in to fire, debris analysis has provided an easy, efficient and cost effe ctive method for accelerant extraction. Several parameters associated with passive diffusion extraction of fire debris using activated charc oal require consideration in order to obtain a truly representative sa mple of the accelerant. This study investigated the effects of time, t emperature, charcoal strip size and sample concentration on the adsorp tion of common accelerants. Notable displacement of specific volatile components, similar to the break-through noted in dynamic systems, occ urred under certain extreme conditions. An analysis protocol was devel oped to minimize these effects.