What´s Perchlorate Trace Evidence?

Perchlorate is an anion that is typically found in the form of perchloric acid and salts such as ammonium perchlorate, potassium perchlorate, and sodium perchlorate. Perchlorate is commonly used in the construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which were used in the high-profile terrorist attacks in London (1999, 2005) along with other attacks. The identification of the presence of perchlorate can be used to determine the source and possibly provide a link to a suspect via analysing trace evidence in skin, clothing, solid surfaces, soil or analysis of the surrounding vicinity of the explosion including any combusted articles and any contaminated environmental sites near the explosion site. This ability to identify perchlorate presence