Packaging for arson evidence must be convenient to transport to and from the scene, available in a range of sizes, water resistant, easy to seal, and effective at providing containment of accelerant vapors. Traditional containers have several limitations for use in the field and the laboratory. A polyester-polyolefin composite film bag was an attractive candidate but had been largely abandoned because of a contamination problem. Similar bags made with film from a modified process designed to eliminate the contaminant were studied to assess their suitability as containers for routine use by arson investigators. This study showed the “new generation” bags to be free of the prior contaminant and sufficiently retentive for packaging and storage of arson evidence.

A technique providing both analytical and toolmark results for lead fragments from bullets is discussed. It permits the nondestructive recovery of bullet fragments from soft cadaver tissue and was used with a plasma asher in an actual homicide case. The lead fragments are examined by neutron activation analysis (but other analytical techniques can be used) for their antimony and arsenic content and by microscopy for matching toolmarks.