NCJ Number
142279
Date Published
Unknown
Length
61 pages
Annotation
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) established the Forensic Science Center to provide broad support for law enforcement as well as a complete interrogation of virtually any sample through the employment of a comprehensive suite of analytic technologies.
Abstract
The Forensic Science Center has focused on the application of analyses in the fields of organic, inorganic, and biologic chemistry using sophisticated chemical equipment including computer-guided mass chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) instruments, high-performance liquid chromatography and ion chromatography units, an inductively- coupled-plasma mass spectrometer, an electron-scattering and analysis probe, and a portable x-ray fluorescence analyzer. To date, clients have requested analyses of high explosives, chemical and biological warfare-related agents, narcotics, and DNA analyses of human samples. The Forensic Center acts as the lead laboratory in many research and development projects: designs for practical field collection kits, portable chemistry stations, and a miniaturized computer-guided GC-MS instrument capable of remote field analyses. By applying a broad, forensic approach at a single, centralized facility, the Forensic Science Center is capable of performing material evidence analyses on behalf of national and international law enforcement agencies, using an integrated approach that maximizes the information return from the often limited samples submitted by law enforcement agencies.