NCJ Number
51789
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1978) Pages: 679-686
Date Published
1978
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS DETERMINED THAT CLAYS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF FINE PAPERS VARY SUBSTANTIALLY IN THEIR TRACE ELEMENTS PROFILES AND THAT SUCH PROFILES CAN BE USED FOR EVIDENCE ANALYSIS.
Abstract
INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS (INAA) WAS PERFORMED ON A VARIETY OF FINE PAPERS COMMONLY USED FOR LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND OTHER MATERIALS LIKELY TO BE INTRODUCED AS EVIDENCE, AS WELL AS ON CLAYS WHICH ARE COMMONLY USED AS FILLER IN PAPER. MOST TRACE ELEMENTS PRESENT IN PAPER COME FROM THE CLAY FILLER. STANDARD TECHNIQUES WERE USED AND QUANTIFICATIONS OF TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS WERE PERFORMED ACCORDING PROTOCOL DEVELOPED BY THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS. TABLES PRESENT THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA WHILE THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL. IT WAS FOUND THAT DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS USE WIDELY DIFFERING CLAYS AS THE PRIMARY PIGMENT FILLER IN THEIR FINE PAPERS. THESE CLAYS VARY SUBSTANTIALLY IN THEIR TRACE ELEMENT PROFILES. A COMBINATION OF TRACE ELEMENT PROFILES AND CONCENTRATION RATIOS CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP A 'FINGERPRINT' OF THAT SHEET OF PAPER. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE DESCRIBED INAA TECHNIQUE SHOULD BE USEFUL FOR ACQUIRING SUPPORTIVE EVIDENCE FOR FORENSIC DETERMINATION OF SIMILARITIES OR DIFFERENCES IN FINE PAPERS. SUPPORTING DATA ARE TABULATED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (GLR)