Grant for research into new forensic technique for explosives

The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), TNO and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) will investigate whether the chemical profiling of explosives can help the police to identify suspects more easily.

The project is entitled FEXIN - Forensic Explosives Intelligence - and the parties involved will work together to develop new forensic, chemical methods over the next few years.

The NFI, TNO and the University of Amsterdam have already worked together on a previous project involving chemical profiling for explosives. This profiling can reveal links between the (traces of) explosives found at a crime scene and raw materials or explosives that are found at the home of a suspect. The researchers look at chemical impurities in the explosives and the degradation products.

Image: ©Netherlands Forensic Institute / Netherlands Forensic Institute
Expert investigates explosive

Modus operandi of an unknown perpetrator

The researchers will now work on taking these principles one step further in this new project: can the chemical composition of explosive materials found at a crime scene tell us anything about the modus operandi of the perpetrator? ‘Have advanced methods been used? And which materials were used to manufacture the explosives? This is the kind of forensic data that we hope can help the police to build up a better picture of the suspect,’ explains NFI scientist Arian van Asten.

The project will also involve developing new methods of chemical analysis and forensic tests for illegal fireworks. ‘We want to make some real progress in our ability to work with both unused and intact fireworks, and the materials that are left behind after use, so that it can be classified and we can trace its origin,’ says Van Asten.

PhD research

The FEXIN project has been made possible by funding from the European Union’s Internal Security Fund (ISF). The PhD project is expected to be completed in 2019 and the researcher involved will work with all three partners, making the most of their knowledge, equipment and infrastructure.

The researcher will also be able to call on the combined knowledge and infrastructure available at CASA, Amsterdam’s new centre for analytical chemistry, a joint initiative of the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam.

International cooperation

Another partner in the project will be the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the US Department of Commerce. The PhD candidate will carry out research at the NIST laboratories in Gaithersburg, near Washington DC, as part of the FEXIN project.