Forensic Identification of Automobile Window Glass Manufacturers in Japan Based on the Refractive Index, X-ray Fluorescence, and X-ray Absorption Fine Structure.

In this study, 3 automobile window glass manufacturers were identified based on refractive index, XRF, and XAFS analyses. The samples were classified into the corresponding groups using XRF, which should be the first step for identification. Samples having different manufacturing times showed differences in the refractive index. Based on XAFS, the amplitude of the EXAFS spectra and the intensities of Fourier transforms differed between manufacturers. In the scheme for manufacturer identification proposed in this study, performing XRF and refractive index studies is the first step. The concentrations of CeO2, MgO, Al2O3, and K2O allowed us to distinguish among manufacturers. Secondly, for samples containing cerium, we discriminated between manufacturer based on the amplitude of the EXAFS spectra and the intensities of Fourier transforms. As a result, the manufacturers of the 75 samples used in this study were multilaterally identified.

Forensic analysis of tire rubbers based on their sulfur chemical states.

The chemical states of sulfur in 11 tires were analyzed using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) in order to discriminate between various tire rubbers. All tires had peaks around 2471.5 and 2480.5eV, and the shapes and heights of these peaks differed among tires, suggesting that the sulfur chemical state could be used for discrimination between tire rubbers. Based on t-tests on the results of XANES, 43 of 55 combinations were different at a significance level of 5%.

Methods of determining lead speciation in fly ash by X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy and a sequential extraction procedure.

Understanding the chemical state of lead in fly ash generated from a waste thermal treatment is important, since the toxicity and solubility of the element depends on its chemical state. This study identified three potential methods for obtaining quantitative information regarding the chemical state of lead in fly ash: X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analysis, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis, and the sequential extraction procedure. The result of this procedure was strongly affected by the pH and sample matrix, and did not necessarily accurately reflect the chemical state. It was difficult to quantitatively examine the chemical species using only EXAFS. However, an XANES fitting enabled direct quantification of the chemical species. An XANES analysis showed that PbSiO(3), PbCl(2), or Pb(2)O(OH)(2) was the predominant chemical species in fly ash. We concluded that multiple analyses should be compared multilaterally to improve the accuracy of the final analysis.