Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

It is empirically understood by most glass analysts that the distribution of
refractive index (RI) values of recovered glass fragments is commonly wider than
those of the control glass values. Newton (25) discussed possible explanations
for this phenomenon.
Smith et al. presented case studies touting the value of the analysis scheme of
RI and LA-ICP-MS for forensic glass comparisons (26).
2.2.5 European Ceramics Society and European Structural Integrity Society
The European Ceramics Society and European Structural Integrity Society
organized a conference in September, 2008 at the Institute of Materials
Research, Stara Lesna, Slovakia, entitled the 3 rd International Conference
“Fractography of Advanced Ceramics.” Similar to its American counterpart, this
conference focused on damage mechanisms and fracture processes. The next
such meeting is scheduled for 2012 (27).
2.2.6 European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI)
The European Academy of Forensic Sciences (EAFS) of the ENFSI meets every
three years and held their fifth meeting in Glasgow, Scotland in 2009. There,
Zadora (28, 29) presented his continuing work on forensic glass interpretation.
The European Paint and Glass (EPG) Working Group of the ENFSI meets
annually. Their three meetings were held in Lisbon, Portugal in 2007; Delft, The
Netherlands in 2008; and St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2009. The EPG offers yearly
proficiency tests and collaborative exercises in glass. Best practice guidelines
are drafted and available to members on their website. Annual meetings provide
an abundance of research presentations and interesting case studies.
Weis (30) presented several case studies touting the discriminating power of LA-
ICP-MS versus the Foster and Freeman, Ltd. Glass Refractive Index Measuring
(GRIM) system. In every case but one, LA-ICP-MS was able to distinguish
glasses that were indistinguishable by RI. In that one instance, RI was able to
distinguish between two glasses that were chemically indistinguishable. Thus,
Weis concluded that the combination of LA-ICP-MS and RI determination leads
to excellent discrimination and classification.
In an interesting case where glass fragments were too small to see and recover
using traditional microscopic methods, Sjåstad (31) used scanning electron
microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to detect and
analyze glass fragments found on stolen banknotes. Glass fragments less than
0.5mm were found on these banknotes and were consistent with broken glass
from the scene of a large, violent bank robbery.
A poster presented by Lauper (32) compared ramp rates for RI analysis using the
GRIM system and found that 4˚/min was the optimal rate. The authors also
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