Explosives Flashcards
What was the explosive case in Winnipeg?
a suspicious item was found in a Centennial neighbourhood with a blinking red light and visible wires with some smoke coming from it
at what time was the scene cleared in Winnipeg? and how?
12:30 by a bomb robot.
What is an explosive?
an explosive is any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that, when subjected to heat, impact, friction, detonation, or other suitable initiation, undergoes rapid chemical change, evolving large volumes of highly heated gases that exert pressure on surrounding medium
what gases are typical in explosives?
nitrogen or carbon dioxide
what three things does an explosion need?
fuel, oxidation, and an ignition source
What type of explosive is critical priority to law enforcement and national security?
IEDs or Improvised Explosive Devices
what are commonly used explosive fillers for IEDs?
firearm propellants and consumer fireworks
define homemade explosives.
easily created explosives using household items
define a shock to an explosive.
this means heat, impact, friction, detonation, or other suitable initiation
what does the historical development of explosives mean? Why should we know this?
this is finding the legal and illegal uses of the explosives. we should know this because we can deal with things appropriately.
What kind of explosive is TATP
primary high explosive
What are three examples of secondary high explosives?
Dynamite, TNT, and ANFO
what do we need to consider for primary high explosives?
websites and other documentation that describes manufacturing procedres for primary high explosives, and where these people got them from
how do we examine secondary high explosvies?
physical examination, or using microscope/stereoscope to examine them.
What does TATP stand for?
Triacetone triperoxide.
what is the reactive bond of TATP? how many are there?
peroxide bonds, has 3
T/F: TATP has a nitro group.
false
what does TNT stand for?
Trinitrotoluene
what is the most commonly used explosive in the military, industries, and mining?
TNT
how many nitrile groups are there in TNT?
3
what is the core structure of TNT?
core nitrile groups attached to the core benzene
why is TNT valued?
its insensitive to shock and reduced risk of accidental detonation
What does ANFO mean?
Ammonium nitrate/fuel oil
where is ANFO used?
coal mining, quarrying, metal mining, quarrying, and civil construction
what kind of agent is ANFO
oxidizing agent which is absorbant for fuel
what are the functional groups of ANFO?
NH4+ and NO3-
T/F: ANFO is used by itself.
false you need to soak it in fuel
what is the percentage of fuel oil in ANFO?
6%
T/F: you can easily access ANFO
true
what is a historical incident of ANFO?
Oklahoma city bombing
what is a historical incident of TATP?
2005 bombings in London
T/F: you will identify unused explosives for counterterrorism and public security.
true
in airports what is used to find explosive traces in the field?
dogs, and portable devices
what does CERL mean?
canadian explosives research laboratory
T/F: CERL is the only Canadian government laboratory
true
what does CERL do?
explosive testing, analysis, certification, and research related to explosives and their components.
what is the most common identification and differentiation method of commercial and military explosives?
Mass spectrometry, and GCMS over and over
what is the explosive database name?
Forensic Substance Database on Explosives
___ out of ___ samples of explosives were differentiated.
36/41 - not bad but not perfect
What was the date of the Oklahoma city bombing?
April 19, 1995
explain the Oklahoma City Bombing.
a truck bomb exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
what bomb was used in the Oklahoma City bombing?
improvised ammonium nitrate fertilizer, diesel fuel, and nitromethane
how many people were killed during the Oklahoma City Bombing?
169
T/F: there were a lot of interviews done for the Oklahoma City Bombing
true like 28,000 (don’t need to know but just a lot)
how many people were killed in the London Bombings?
52 people
what explosive was used during the London bombing?
IEDs and TATP
what is the scene approach to trace explosive investigation?
scene assessment; search and sample; evidence collection/packaging; field analysis; evidence transport
what is the laboratory approach to trace explosive investigation?
lab reception; storage; initial examination and analysis; sampling and chemical analysis
what is the report approach to trace explosive investigation?
interpretation and reporting
How do you collect explosion evidence
airtight containers for solid items
can you use plastic bags to collect explosive evidence?
no
what is a substrate control?
uncontaminated control sample
what are the standards for explosive related evidence?
terminology, intact explosives, and explosive residues
what will the standard for explosive related evidence cause?
increased uniformity and consistency of language in communications among users, minimizing the potential for misinterpretations and misunderstandings
what are the challenges with post-blast analysis?
- issues with finding representative sampling since the amount of sample available may be very small
- composition changes from one case to another and different matrices can be quite complex
- explosion is a non-controlled and heterogenous phenomenon
- identification, and interpretation problems
- other evidence may be compromised
