SAMARA, August 30. /TASS/. A student at Samara National Research University named after academician S.P. Korolev developed a system that will increase the accuracy of arson detection by almost 10 times. The university's press service told TASS on Tuesday.
"A student of Samara University named after academician S.P. Korolev has developed a mobile analytical complex for the Ministry of Emergency Situations departments, which will increase the accuracy of identifying signs of arson by about 10 times when investigating the causes of a fire. The system will also be useful for ecologists and developers - it allows to check soil for the presence of harmful substances, which is important when planning the development of former industrial areas. A prototype of the device has already been made and passed preliminary tests at the Samara Region Fire Testing Laboratory", the Samara University press-service said.
The device looks like a small plastic case and weighs about 10 kg. It can be carried from a vehicle to the fire scene. The basis of the mobile complex is a portable gas chromatograph "PIA", developed at the university a few years ago and known for its compact size and high sensitivity.
Some of the samples taken are placed in a sealed tube, which is then heated to 150 degrees Celsius in a special device. After a few minutes, the extracted components are sent to a gas chromatograph for analysis. The device determines the composition of these components and compares it with a database of "digital chromatographic prints" of various substances - flammable materials, flammable liquids and so on. If the "digital fingerprints" match, then there is a high probability that the cause of the fire was arson.
Accuracy of forensic analysis
The author of the project, Alexey Kurepov, a student of chemistry at Samara University, notes that the designed device is notable for its mobility, which allows for a more accurate analysis of the causes of the fire. "To identify signs of arson, experts usually use the method of gas chromatography, this is the main method, but the problem is that the usual gas chromatograph is a fairly large stationary device, that is, the samples taken at the scene of the fire must first be brought to the laboratory, to this device, and the road can take more than one hour, especially if the fire occurred somewhere in a remote area. During this time, the content of a number of chemicals in the samples decreases or can drop to almost nothing at all. As a result, the expertise may be inaccurate", - he said.
The developed device allows to conduct analysis at the fire scene, which increases the accuracy of analysis by about 10 times.
Apart from mobility and accuracy, the advantage of the development is ease of use - even a regular employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations will be able to work with it after a short training course. The new device will determine, analyze and give the results by itself. For now, it requires a highly qualified chromatographer working in a laboratory to conduct expert analysis and interpretation of results, Samara University press service said. It can also be used for environmental monitoring or for geological prospecting purposes, as it can detect various substances.