NCJ Number
1906
Date Published
1970
Length
48 pages
Annotation
THE POSSIBILITY OF USING INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE WHETHER TWO BULLET LEAD SPECIMENS HAVE COMMON OR DIFFERENT SOURCES HAS BEEN EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE NUMBER OF ELEMENTS OBSERVABLE, AND THE NUMBER OF POINTS OF COMPARISON IS GENERALLY LIMITED TO THREE ELEMENTS, DUE TO DOMINANCE OF ANTIMONY RADIOISOTOPES IN THE ACTIVATED BULLET LEAD SPECIMENS. THIS FACTOR, COUPLED WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF COMPOSITION UNIFORMITY OF BULLET LEAD FROM AT LEAST ONE MAJOR MANUFACTURER, IMPOSES SOME LIMITATIONS ON THE METHOD. THUS, WHILE DIFFERENCES IN IDENTIFICATION POINTS DEFINITIVELY INDICATE A DIFFERENCE IN SOURCES, TWO BULLETS WITH THE SAME PATTERN OF ONLY THREE IDENTIFICATION POINTS ARE NOT USUALLY DEFINITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A COMMON SOURCE. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GIVEN WITH RESPECT TO EXTENDING THE ACTIVATION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE TO ENABLE POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF BULLET SAMPLES AS BEING FROM COMMON OR DIFFERENT SOURCES.