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Re: Kristine Bunch
Posted by: dcarpenter (IP Logged)
Date: August 13, 2012 02:43PM
Bobby,
Here is a list of references from our submitted paper. There is a wealth of information and data was was brought to bear on this methodology. It is not a simple analysis tool, but it requires knowledge in many technical areas, especially in CO production in compartment fires AND toxicology related to uptake of products of combustion. Few pathologists and toxicologists understand CO production in compartment fires and very few fire investigators have knowledge of toxicology. Thus, it is not surprising why only a few individuals have sufficient knowledge in these two areas and why it has been slow to receive more frequency in the application to fatal fires.
A co-author of our submitted paper is David Purser who does understand both technical areas. He is the author of a chapter in the well-accepted SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering:
[15] D.A. Purser. Assessment of Hazards to Occupants from smoke, toxic gases and heat, Chapter 2-6, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, Editor P.J. DiNenno, 4th edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, 2008, pp. 2-96 to 2-193.
David Purser was the chief toxicologist for Fire Research Station (FRS) under the British Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK (a previous equivalent to NIST). David Purser also teaches a course at the University of Maryland and while in the United States fro mthe UK, came to visit CSE for a couple of days to help Jamie McAllister with her Ph.D. Dissertation on fire toxicology. He was also developing a more realistic small-scale test apparatus for toxicology assessment of materials in under-ventilated conditions and CSE was going to participate in a "round robin" test. We had lengthy discussions on the application of toxicology to fire investigation. He ultimately became a co-author of our submitted paper as a result of this exposure to this methodology.
I hope this information will be helpful to you. If I can answer specific questions, I would be happy to.
Sincerely,
Doug Carpenter
REFERENCES:
[4] B.C. Levin, P.R. Rechani, J.L. Gurman, F. Landron, H.M. Clark, M.F. Yoklavich, J.R. Rodriguez, L. Droz, F. Mattos de Cabrera, and S. Kaye. Analysis of carboxyhemoglobin and cyanide in blood from victims of the Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico. J. Forensic Sci. 35: 151-168 (1990).
[5] M. Birky, M. Paabo, J. Brown. Correlation of Autopsy Data and Materials Involved in the Tennessee Jail Fire. Fire Safety Journal. 2: 17-22 (1979/80).
[6] L. Ferrari, M. Arado, L. Giannuzzi, G. Mastrantonio, and M. Guatelli. Hydrogen Cyanide and carbon monoxide in blood of convicted dead in a polyurethane combustion: a proposition for the data analysis, Forensic Sci. Int. 121: 140-143 (2001).
[7] F.J. Baud, P. Barriot, V. Toffis, B. Riou, E. Vicaut, Y. Lecarpentier, R. Bourdon, A. Astier, and C. Bismuth. Elevated blood cyanide concentrations in victims of smoke inhalation. New Engl. J. Med. 325: 1761-1766 (1991).
[8] G. Kunsman and B. Levine. Carbon Monoxide/Cyanide. In Principles of Forensic Toxicology, 2nd ed., AACC Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, pp. 327-340.
[9] G.L. Nelson. Carbon Monoxide and Fire Toxicity: A Review and Analysis of Recent Work. Fire Technology, 34, pp. 38–58 (1998).
[10] World Health Organization, Environmental Health Criteria 213, Carbon Monoxide, 2nd edition, 1999.
[11] F.M. Esposito. Blood and air concentrations of benzene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide following inhalation of these gases or thermal decomposition products of polymers releasing these toxicants, Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Graduate School of Pubic Health, University of Pittsburgh, September 1987.
[12] B. Ballantyne and H. Salem. Experimental, Clinical, Occupational Toxicology, and Forensic Aspects of Hydrogen Cyanide with Particular Reference to Vapor Exposure. Chapter 30. In Inhalation Toxicology, 2nd ed. CRC, Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 2006, pp. 717-802.
[13] F. Simeonova and L. Fishbein. Hydrogen Cyanide and Cyanides: Human Health Aspects. Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 61, World Health Organization, first draft, Geneva 2004.
[14] A Toxicological Profile for Cyanide, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, September 2004.
[15] D.A. Purser. Assessment of Hazards to Occupants from smoke, toxic gases and heat, Chapter 2-6, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, Editor P.J. DiNenno, 4th edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, 2008, pp. 2-96 to 2-193.
[16] D.A. Purser. Asphyxiant components of fire effluents, Chapter 4, In “Fire toxicity” Editors A.Stec and R. Hull. Woodhead , Cambridge UK, 2010 pp 118-198.
[17] D.A. Purser and W.D. Woolley. Biological studies of combustion atmospheres. J. Fire Sciences. 1:118-144 (1983).
[18] J.L. McAllister, R. Roby, B. Levine, D. Purser. The Effect of Sodium Fluoride on the Stability of Cyanide in Postmortem Blood Samples from Fire Victims. Forensic Science International, published online January 5, 2011.
[19] M.G. Kimmerle. Aspects and Methodology for the Evaluation of Toxicological Parameters during Fire Exposure. Combustion Toxicol. 1: 4-51 (1974).
[20] V. DiMaio and D. DiMaio. Forensic Pathology. 2nd Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 2001.
[21] F.M. Esposito. Blood and air concentrations of benzene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide following inhalation of these gases or thermal decomposition products of polymers releasing these toxicants, Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, September 1987.
[22] M. Wu, R.E. Gordon, R. Herbert, M. Padilla, et al. Case Report: Lung Disease in World Trade Center Responders Exposed to Dust and Smoke: Carbon Nanotubes Found in the Lungs of World Trade Center Patients and Dust Samples. Environmental Health Perspectives. 118(4):499-504 (2010).
[23] L.Y. Copper. Compartment Fire-Generated Environment and Smoke Filling. In The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 3rd ed. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. 2002, pp. 3/174 – 3/196.
[24] DeRosa, Maria, Litton, Charles, “Hydrogen Cyanide and Smoke Particle Characteristics During Combustion of Polyurethane Foams and Other Nitrogen-Containing Materials”, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1991.
[25] D. Gottuk. Generation of Carbon Monoxide in Compartment Fires. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA, 1992.
[26] R. Gann, J. Averill, E. Johnsson, M. Nyden, and R. Peacock. Smoke Component Yields from Room-scale Fire Tests. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2003.
[27] B. Levin, M. Paabo, M.L. Fultz, and C. Bailey. Generation of Hydrogen Cyanide from Flexible Polyurethane Foam Decomposed under Different Combustion Conditions. Fire and Materials 9: 125-134 (1985).
[28] SFPE Engineering Guide for Predicting 1st and 2nd Degree Skin Burns from Thermal Radiation, Society of Fire Protection Engineering, Boston, MA, 2000.
[29] B.Y. Lattimer, U. Vandsburger, and R.J. Roby. Carbon Monoxide Levels in Structure Fires: Effects of Wood in the Upper Layer of a Post-Flashover Compartment Fire. Fire Tech. 34: 325-355 (1998)
[30] W.D. Woolley, Nitrogen-Containing Products from the Thermal Decomposition of Flexible Polyurethane Foams, British Polymer Journal, 4:27–43 (1972).
[31] D.A. Purser and J.A. Purser. HCN yields and fate of fuel nitrogen for materials under different combustion conditions in the ISO 19700 tube furnace and large-scale fires. Fire Safety Science 9: 1117-1128 (2008)
[32] J.L. McAllister, R. Roby, B. Levine, D. Purser. Stability of Cyanide in Cadavers and in Postmortem Stored Tissue Specimens, a Review. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 32: 612-620 (2008).
[33] J. Ferrino-McAllister, “Fire Victim Blood Cyanide Stability and the Development of a Cyanide Uptake Model”, University of Maryland, Baltimore, May 2010.
[34] D.J. Icove, J.D. DeHaan, “Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction”, 2nd Edition, Brady Publishing, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009, pp. 414-415.
[35] Email correspondence from Ross Brogan, May 20, 2011.
[36] Y. Seto, M. Kataoka, K. Tsuge. Stability of blood carbon monoxide and hemoglobins during heating. Forensic Sci. Int. 121:144-150 (2001).
[37] MM. Birky, D. Malek, M. Paabo. Study of biological samples obtained from victims of MGM Grand Hotel Fire. J. Anal. Toxicol. 7:265-271 (1983).
[38] R.F. Coburn, R.E. Forster, and P.B. Kane. Considerations of the Physiological Variables That Determine the Blood Carboxyhemoglobin Concentration in Man. J. Clin. Invest. 44: 1899-1910 (1965).
[39] J. Peterson and R. Stewart. Predicting the Carboxyhemoglobin Levels Resulting from Carbon Monoxide Exposures. J. Appl. Physiol. 39: 633-638 (1975).
[40] F. Moriya and Y. Hashimoto. Potential for error when assessing blood cyanide concentrations in fire victims. J. Forensic Sci. 46: 1421-1425 (2001).
Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
8940 Old Annapolis Road, Suite L
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 884-3266
(410) 884-3267 (fax)
www.csefire.com
Here is a list of references from our submitted paper. There is a wealth of information and data was was brought to bear on this methodology. It is not a simple analysis tool, but it requires knowledge in many technical areas, especially in CO production in compartment fires AND toxicology related to uptake of products of combustion. Few pathologists and toxicologists understand CO production in compartment fires and very few fire investigators have knowledge of toxicology. Thus, it is not surprising why only a few individuals have sufficient knowledge in these two areas and why it has been slow to receive more frequency in the application to fatal fires.
A co-author of our submitted paper is David Purser who does understand both technical areas. He is the author of a chapter in the well-accepted SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering:
[15] D.A. Purser. Assessment of Hazards to Occupants from smoke, toxic gases and heat, Chapter 2-6, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, Editor P.J. DiNenno, 4th edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, 2008, pp. 2-96 to 2-193.
David Purser was the chief toxicologist for Fire Research Station (FRS) under the British Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK (a previous equivalent to NIST). David Purser also teaches a course at the University of Maryland and while in the United States fro mthe UK, came to visit CSE for a couple of days to help Jamie McAllister with her Ph.D. Dissertation on fire toxicology. He was also developing a more realistic small-scale test apparatus for toxicology assessment of materials in under-ventilated conditions and CSE was going to participate in a "round robin" test. We had lengthy discussions on the application of toxicology to fire investigation. He ultimately became a co-author of our submitted paper as a result of this exposure to this methodology.
I hope this information will be helpful to you. If I can answer specific questions, I would be happy to.
Sincerely,
Doug Carpenter
REFERENCES:
[4] B.C. Levin, P.R. Rechani, J.L. Gurman, F. Landron, H.M. Clark, M.F. Yoklavich, J.R. Rodriguez, L. Droz, F. Mattos de Cabrera, and S. Kaye. Analysis of carboxyhemoglobin and cyanide in blood from victims of the Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico. J. Forensic Sci. 35: 151-168 (1990).
[5] M. Birky, M. Paabo, J. Brown. Correlation of Autopsy Data and Materials Involved in the Tennessee Jail Fire. Fire Safety Journal. 2: 17-22 (1979/80).
[6] L. Ferrari, M. Arado, L. Giannuzzi, G. Mastrantonio, and M. Guatelli. Hydrogen Cyanide and carbon monoxide in blood of convicted dead in a polyurethane combustion: a proposition for the data analysis, Forensic Sci. Int. 121: 140-143 (2001).
[7] F.J. Baud, P. Barriot, V. Toffis, B. Riou, E. Vicaut, Y. Lecarpentier, R. Bourdon, A. Astier, and C. Bismuth. Elevated blood cyanide concentrations in victims of smoke inhalation. New Engl. J. Med. 325: 1761-1766 (1991).
[8] G. Kunsman and B. Levine. Carbon Monoxide/Cyanide. In Principles of Forensic Toxicology, 2nd ed., AACC Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, pp. 327-340.
[9] G.L. Nelson. Carbon Monoxide and Fire Toxicity: A Review and Analysis of Recent Work. Fire Technology, 34, pp. 38–58 (1998).
[10] World Health Organization, Environmental Health Criteria 213, Carbon Monoxide, 2nd edition, 1999.
[11] F.M. Esposito. Blood and air concentrations of benzene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide following inhalation of these gases or thermal decomposition products of polymers releasing these toxicants, Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Graduate School of Pubic Health, University of Pittsburgh, September 1987.
[12] B. Ballantyne and H. Salem. Experimental, Clinical, Occupational Toxicology, and Forensic Aspects of Hydrogen Cyanide with Particular Reference to Vapor Exposure. Chapter 30. In Inhalation Toxicology, 2nd ed. CRC, Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 2006, pp. 717-802.
[13] F. Simeonova and L. Fishbein. Hydrogen Cyanide and Cyanides: Human Health Aspects. Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 61, World Health Organization, first draft, Geneva 2004.
[14] A Toxicological Profile for Cyanide, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, September 2004.
[15] D.A. Purser. Assessment of Hazards to Occupants from smoke, toxic gases and heat, Chapter 2-6, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, Editor P.J. DiNenno, 4th edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, 2008, pp. 2-96 to 2-193.
[16] D.A. Purser. Asphyxiant components of fire effluents, Chapter 4, In “Fire toxicity” Editors A.Stec and R. Hull. Woodhead , Cambridge UK, 2010 pp 118-198.
[17] D.A. Purser and W.D. Woolley. Biological studies of combustion atmospheres. J. Fire Sciences. 1:118-144 (1983).
[18] J.L. McAllister, R. Roby, B. Levine, D. Purser. The Effect of Sodium Fluoride on the Stability of Cyanide in Postmortem Blood Samples from Fire Victims. Forensic Science International, published online January 5, 2011.
[19] M.G. Kimmerle. Aspects and Methodology for the Evaluation of Toxicological Parameters during Fire Exposure. Combustion Toxicol. 1: 4-51 (1974).
[20] V. DiMaio and D. DiMaio. Forensic Pathology. 2nd Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 2001.
[21] F.M. Esposito. Blood and air concentrations of benzene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide following inhalation of these gases or thermal decomposition products of polymers releasing these toxicants, Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, September 1987.
[22] M. Wu, R.E. Gordon, R. Herbert, M. Padilla, et al. Case Report: Lung Disease in World Trade Center Responders Exposed to Dust and Smoke: Carbon Nanotubes Found in the Lungs of World Trade Center Patients and Dust Samples. Environmental Health Perspectives. 118(4):499-504 (2010).
[23] L.Y. Copper. Compartment Fire-Generated Environment and Smoke Filling. In The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 3rd ed. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. 2002, pp. 3/174 – 3/196.
[24] DeRosa, Maria, Litton, Charles, “Hydrogen Cyanide and Smoke Particle Characteristics During Combustion of Polyurethane Foams and Other Nitrogen-Containing Materials”, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1991.
[25] D. Gottuk. Generation of Carbon Monoxide in Compartment Fires. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA, 1992.
[26] R. Gann, J. Averill, E. Johnsson, M. Nyden, and R. Peacock. Smoke Component Yields from Room-scale Fire Tests. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2003.
[27] B. Levin, M. Paabo, M.L. Fultz, and C. Bailey. Generation of Hydrogen Cyanide from Flexible Polyurethane Foam Decomposed under Different Combustion Conditions. Fire and Materials 9: 125-134 (1985).
[28] SFPE Engineering Guide for Predicting 1st and 2nd Degree Skin Burns from Thermal Radiation, Society of Fire Protection Engineering, Boston, MA, 2000.
[29] B.Y. Lattimer, U. Vandsburger, and R.J. Roby. Carbon Monoxide Levels in Structure Fires: Effects of Wood in the Upper Layer of a Post-Flashover Compartment Fire. Fire Tech. 34: 325-355 (1998)
[30] W.D. Woolley, Nitrogen-Containing Products from the Thermal Decomposition of Flexible Polyurethane Foams, British Polymer Journal, 4:27–43 (1972).
[31] D.A. Purser and J.A. Purser. HCN yields and fate of fuel nitrogen for materials under different combustion conditions in the ISO 19700 tube furnace and large-scale fires. Fire Safety Science 9: 1117-1128 (2008)
[32] J.L. McAllister, R. Roby, B. Levine, D. Purser. Stability of Cyanide in Cadavers and in Postmortem Stored Tissue Specimens, a Review. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 32: 612-620 (2008).
[33] J. Ferrino-McAllister, “Fire Victim Blood Cyanide Stability and the Development of a Cyanide Uptake Model”, University of Maryland, Baltimore, May 2010.
[34] D.J. Icove, J.D. DeHaan, “Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction”, 2nd Edition, Brady Publishing, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009, pp. 414-415.
[35] Email correspondence from Ross Brogan, May 20, 2011.
[36] Y. Seto, M. Kataoka, K. Tsuge. Stability of blood carbon monoxide and hemoglobins during heating. Forensic Sci. Int. 121:144-150 (2001).
[37] MM. Birky, D. Malek, M. Paabo. Study of biological samples obtained from victims of MGM Grand Hotel Fire. J. Anal. Toxicol. 7:265-271 (1983).
[38] R.F. Coburn, R.E. Forster, and P.B. Kane. Considerations of the Physiological Variables That Determine the Blood Carboxyhemoglobin Concentration in Man. J. Clin. Invest. 44: 1899-1910 (1965).
[39] J. Peterson and R. Stewart. Predicting the Carboxyhemoglobin Levels Resulting from Carbon Monoxide Exposures. J. Appl. Physiol. 39: 633-638 (1975).
[40] F. Moriya and Y. Hashimoto. Potential for error when assessing blood cyanide concentrations in fire victims. J. Forensic Sci. 46: 1421-1425 (2001).
Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
8940 Old Annapolis Road, Suite L
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 884-3266
(410) 884-3267 (fax)
www.csefire.com
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