STABLE LEAD ISOTOPES IN TEETH AS INDICATORS OF PAST DOMICILE - A POTENTIAL NEW TOOL IN FORENSIC-SCIENCE

A pilot study using stable lead isotope analyses has shown that perman ent and deciduous teeth from Eastern and Southern European subjects ha ve completely different lead isotopic compositions to those of Austral ian subjects. There are statistically significant differences between groups of teeth from subjects from the former Soviet Union (CIS), the former Yugoslavia, United Kingdom, and Lebanon. The isotopic analyses confirm the stability of lead in enamel but suggest that there is exch ange of European lead with Australian lead in dentine amounting to abo ut 1% per year. The isotopic differences in, and exchange of, European lead and Australian lead offer an exciting and powerful tool for fore nsic identification.