Ignitable Liquids, Explosives, & Gunshot Residue Subcommittee

The Ignitable Liquids, Explosives, & Gunshot Residue Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the scientific examination and analysis of materials associated with fire and explosion investigations and the analysis of evidence that results from the deposition of or physical transfer of small or minute quantities of gunshot residue.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

Officers

Brenda Christy, Subcommittee Chair, Virginia Department of Forensic Science

Thomas (Rusty) White, Subcommittee Vice Chair, Texas DPS Crime Laboratory

Emily Weber, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, Hamilton County Coroner's Office 

Members

Standards

On the OSAC Registry 

• ASTM E1388-17 Standard Practice for Static Headspace Sampling of Vapors from Fire Debris Samples (added December 1, 2020).
• ASTM E1412-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration with Activated Charcoal (added December 1, 2020).
• ASTM E1413-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Dynamic Headspace Concentration onto an Adsorbent Tube (added December 1, 2020.
• ASTM E1588-20 Standard Practice for Gunshot Residue Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (added September 7, 2021).
• ASTM E2451-21 Standard Practice for Preserving Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residue Extracts from Fire Debris Samples (added April 5, 2022).
• ASTM E3189-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Static Headspace Concentration onto an Adsorbent Tube (added December 1, 2020).
• ASTM E3196-21 Standard Terminology Relating to the Examination of Explosives (added July 5, 2022).
• ASTM E3197-20 Standard Terminology Relating to Examination of Fire Debris (added April 6, 2021).
• ASTM E3245-20e1 Standard Guide for Systematic Approach to the Extraction, Analysis, and Classification of Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residues in Fire Debris Samples (added May 4, 2021).
• ASTM E3253-21, Practice for Establishing an Examination Scheme for Intact Explosives (added July 5, 2022). 
• ASTM E3309-21 Standard Guide for Reporting of Forensic Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (SEM/EDS) (added September 6, 2022).
• ASTM E3329-21 Standard Practice for Establishing an Examination Scheme for Explosive Residues (added July 5, 2022).
• OSAC 2021-N-0009, Standard Practice for the Collection and Preservation of Organic Gunshot Residues (added December 7, 2021 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication). 
• OSAC 2022-S-0002, Standard Practice for the Identification of Compounds Related to Organic Gunshot Residue (oGSR) by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GS-MS) (added January 5, 2023 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication). 
• OSAC 2022-S-0003, Standard Practice for the Identification of Compounds Related to Organic Gunshot Residue (oGSR) by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) (added January 5, 2023 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication). 

Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) & Eligible for the OSAC Registry 

• ASTM E1618-19 Standard Test Method for Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (under revision as OSAC 2022-S-0004 & OSAC 2022-S-0005).

  • position statement from former Fire debris & explosives analysis subcommitteE

At an SDO for Further Development & Publication

• OSAC 2021-N-0009, Standard Practice for the Collection and Preservation of Organic Gunshot Residues (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry). 
• OSAC 2022-S-0002, Standard Practice for the Identification of Compounds Related to Organic Gunshot Residue (oGSR) by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GS-MS) (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
• OSAC 2022-S-0003, Standard Practice for the Identification of Compounds Related to Organic Gunshot Residue (oGSR) by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry). 
• OSAC 2022-S-0004, Standard Practice for the Classification for Ignitable Liquids Encountered in Fire Debris Analysis.
• OSAC 2022-S-0005, Standard Test Method for Interpretation of Gas Chromatography-Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry Data for the Identification of Ignitable Liquid Classes in Fire Debris Analysis.
• REVISION to ASTM E1386 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Solvent Extraction.
• REVISION to ASTM E1388 Standard Practice for Sampling of Headspace Vapors from Fire Debris Samples.
• REVISION to ASTM E2881 Standard Test Method for Extraction and Derivatization of Vegetable Oils and Fats from Fire Debris and Liquid Samples with Analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
• REVISION to ASTM E2997 Standard Test Method for Analysis of Biodiesel Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
• REVISION to ASTM E2998 Standard Practice for Characterization and Classification of Smokeless Powder.
• REVISION to ASTM E2999 Test Method for Analysis of Smokeless Powder by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.
• REVISION to ASTM E3197 Standard Terminology Relating to the Examination of Fire Debris.
• REVISION to ASTM E3255 Standard Practice for Quality Assurance of Laboratories Performing Chemical Analysis of Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residues  (Annex).
• Standard Practice for Reporting Results and Opinions of Ignitable Liquids Analysis. 
• Standard Practice for Reporting Results and Opinions of Explosives Analysis.
• Standard Practice for a Forensic Explosives Analysis Training Program.
• Standard Practice for a Forensic Fire Debris Analysis Training Program.
• Standard Practice for Training in the Forensic Examination of Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) using Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (SEM/EDS).
• Standard Practice for Expert Opinions on the Interpretation of Forensic Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (SEM/EDS).

Under Development

• OSAC 2022-S-0023, Standard Practice for the Forensic Analysis of Explosives by Polarized Light Microscopy.
• OSAC 2023-N-0010, Standard Practice for Collection of Primer Gunshot Residue (pGSR) Particles from Clothing, Vehicles, and Other Inanimate Objects Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Stubs.
• Standard Practice for the Validation of Methods for the Analysis of Explosives (Annex to ASTM E2549).
• Standard Practice for the Validation of Methods for the Analysis of Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residues (Annex to ASTM E2549). 
• Standard Practice for the Characterization of Solid Oxidizer and Fuel Explosives. 
• Standard Practice for the Classification of Particles as pGSR. 
• Standard Practice for the Manual Reacquisition of Images and Spectra of pGSR Particles. 
• Standard Guide for the Performance/Conduction of Automated pGSR Analysis by SEM/EDS.
• Standard Practice for Quality Assurance in pGSR Analysis.

Other Work Products

Reference Documents

• Fire Debris Admissibility document, January 2022. 
• Analysis of Fire Debris Reference List, February 2020.
• Analysis of Explosives Reference List, February 2020.

Research & Development Needs

• See the research and development needs identified by the Ignitable Liquids, Explosives, & Gunshot Residue Subcommittee.

Standards Development Maps

• Ignitable Liquids, Explosives, & Gunshot Residue Roadmap, December 2020. 

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References 

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

Historical References:

• TWGFEX/DOJ/NIJ: A Guide for Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation
• TWGFEX: Guide for the Forensic Identification of Intact Explosives
• TWGFEX: Quality Assurance (QA) Guide for the Forensic Analysis of Ignitable Liquids
• TWGFEX: Recommended Guidelines for Forensic Identification of Post-Blast Explosive Residues
• TWGFEX: Standard Practice for Archiving Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples and Questioned Liquid Samples Submitted for Ignitable Liquid Analysis

Resources:

• TWGFEX: Contamination & Limitations Bibliography
• TWGFEX: Explosive Analyst Job Description
• TWGFEX: Explosive Analyst Training
• TWGFEX: Explosives Bibliography 1988 – 1998

TWGFEX: Fire Debris Training:

• TWGFEX: Glossary of Terms
• TWGFEX: Proficiency Testing in ILR Analysis
• TWGFEX: Standard Guide for a Systematic Approach to the Analysis of Fire-Related Samples for Ignitable Liquids and their Residues
• TWGFEX: Suggested Guide for Explosive Analysis Training
• TWGFEX Bibliography
• TWGFEX/NIJ: 2007-2008 National Needs Assessment for the Near and Long Term Future of Fire Debris and Explosives Analysis and Investigation
• ASTM E355 Standard Procedure for Gas Chromatography Terms and Relationships
• ASTM E620 Standard Practice for Reporting Opinions of Scientific or Technical Experts
• ASTM E1492 Standard Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory
• ASTM E1510 Standard Practice for Installing Fused Silica Open Tubular Capillary Columns in Gas Chromatographs
• ASTM E1459 Standard Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and Related Documentation
• ASTM E2154 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration with Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME)

Gunshot Residue

• Proposed Practices for Validating the Performance of Instruments Used for Automated Inorganic Gunshot Residue Analysis (May 2020).
• Gunshot Residue Compiled Bibliography (January 2017).
• SWGGSR - Guide for Primer Gunshot Residue Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (2011).
• ASTM E1588-16b (2016).
• Final Report on Particle Analysis for Gunshot Residue Detection (1977).
• ENFSI BPM for GSR (ver 1.0) (2003-2011).
• ENFSI Guide for GSR (ver 2.0) (2008-2012).
• Current Methods in Forensic Gunshot Residue Analysis (2000).
• Chemical Analysis of Firearms, Ammunition, and Gunshot Residue (2008).