Document Title: A New Forensics Tool: Development of an Advanced Sensor for Detecting Clandestine Graves

Locating clandestine graves, identification of victims (development of biological profiles from unidentified persons) and odor recognition (in locating and identifying individuals) are still very difficult, costly and time consuming tasks which impact law enforcement, intelligence and military operations around the world. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognizes these deficiencies and has funded studies to develop databases comprised of odor signatures of human decomposition, canine scenting and canine tracking abilities. The database comprising the odor liberation from human cadavers was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in conjunction with the University of Tennessee’s Decay Research Facility and continues being developed for long-term burials. The purpose of this proposal was to utilize this very specific and unique database of human decompositional odor to develop a sensor package capable of locating clandestine graves. This detector (LABRADOR – light-weight analyser for buried remains and decomposition odor recognition), based on specific chemical compounds found relevant to human decomposition,