Design, creation, and deployment of a sampling kit for hazardous material investigations

Abstract

Response to a hazardous material (HAZMAT) incident and/or an environmental crime often involves a legal investigation. Our laboratory, in collaboration with a number of state, local, and federal agencies, developed and deployed a sampling kit designed specifically for first responders to expedite both collection and transportation of physical evidence to the state laboratory for identification, while maintaining chain of custody. These kits have been used for sampling and transport of samples for a number of legal cases and have shown great utility in and among our local first responder community.