Disaster Victim Identification in the 21st Century

Edited by John A Williams is Emeritus Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Western Carolina University. He is a board-certified (D-ABFA retired) forensic anthropologist with more than four decades of experience working with medical examiners, the FBI, and law enforcement agencies across the United States. As a member since 1995 of the Federal agency, DMORT, he has assisted in the identification of mass fatality victims including two airline crashes and the 9/11 terrorist attack. He has served as an instructor at DMORT national trainings. Dr Williams currently chairs the AAFS ASB DVI Consensus Body. Victor W Weedn is a forensic pathologist and attorney and the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland. He is a past President of the AAFS and is on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). He founded the US military’s DNA identification program and directed the Armed Forces Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). In this capacity, he was very involved in identifying service members who died in recent and past conflicts, as well as in the identification efforts of several major civilian aircraft mishaps and of the Branch Davidian conflagration victims. Dr Weedn serves on the NIST OSAC MDI Committee’s DVI Task Force and on the ASB DVI Consensus Body.

• About the Editors xvNotes on the Contributors xviiPreface xxiSeries Preface xxiii1 Introduction 1John A Williams and Victor W Weedn1.1 Introduction 11.2 This Book 32 Historical Background 7Victor W Weedn2.1 History of Mass Disasters 72.2 Early History of Mass Disaster Response 142.2.1 The Portsmouth Christmas Fires and 1803 Portsmouth Federal Disaster Relief 162.2.2 The 1835 Great Fire of New York City 162.2.3 1865 Sultana Explosion 182.2.4 The 1871 Fires 182.2.5 American Red Cross (ARC) 192.2.6 1889 Johnstown Flood 192.2.7 1899 San Ciriaco Hurricane 202.2.8 1900 Galveston Storm 202.2.9 1906 San Francisco Earthquake 212.2.10 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire 212.2.11 1912 Sinking of Titanic 222.2.12 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic 222.2.13 1921–22 Russian (Povolzhye) Famine 232.2.14 1927 Mississippi River Flood 242.3 1930s and 1940s Federal Disaster Relief Legislation 242.3.1 World War II Civilian Preparedness and Emergency Assets 252.3.2 Post WWII Federal Disaster Relief Legislation 252.3.3 Civil Defense Act of 1950 (P.L 81-920) 262.3.4 Federal Disaster Relief Act of 1950 (P.L 81-875) 262.4 1950s Federal Disaster Relief 282.5 1960s Beginnings 282.5.1 1960 Hurricane Donna 292.5.2 1961 Hurricane Carla 292.5.3 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm 292.5.4 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake 302.5.5 1960s Federal Activism in the Wake of the Alaskan Earthquake 302.5.6 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak 302.5.7 1965 Hurricane Betsy 312.5.8 Disaster Relief Act of 1966 312.5.9 1968 National Flood Insurance 312.5.10 1969 Hurricane Camille 322.6 Disaster Relief Acts of 1969 and 1970 322.6.1 1971 San Fernando (Sylmar) Earthquake 322.6.2 1972 Hurricane Agnes 332.6.3 1974 Super Outbreak 332.6.4 Disaster Relief Act Amendments of 1974 332.7 National Emergencies Act of 1976 342.8 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) of 1977 342.9 1979 Executive Orders 12127 & 12148 – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 352.9.1 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) Nuclear Accident 362.9.2 1980 Mount St Helens Volcanic Eruption 372.10 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988 (The Stafford Act) 372.10.1 FEMA under President George H W Bush (1989–1993) 382.10.2 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 382.10.3 1989 Hurricane Hugo 392.10.4 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake 392.11 1992 Federal Response Plan (FRP) 402.11.1 1992 Hurricane Andrew 402.11.2 1992 Hurricane Iniki 412.12 FEMA under President William J Clinton (1993–2001) 412.12.1 1993 Midwest Floods 422.12.2 1994 Northridge Earthquake 422.12.3 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing 422.13 1996 EMAC 432.14 FEMA under President George W Bush (2001–2009) 432.14.1 2001 Al Qaeda 9/11 Terrorist Attacks 442.15 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 452.15.1 2005 Hurricane Katrina 472.16 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA) 482.17 2008 National Response Framework (NRF) 492.18 2011 National Disaster Recovery Framework 502.18.1 2012 Hurricane Sandy 502.18.2 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (SRIA) 502.18.3 2017 Hurricane Harvey 512.18.4 2017 Hurricane Maria 512.19 The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) 522.20 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic 522.21 Summary of Federal Disaster Response 532.22 History of Disaster Victim Identification 542.22.1 Scientific Methods of Identification 552.22.2 Military Identification Efforts 592.22.3 Fbi Dvi Squad 612.22.4 Interpol 612.22.5 Other International Guidance 632.22.6 Disaster Mortuary Operations Response Team (DMORT) 642.22.7 National Association of Medical Examiners 652.22.9 US Standards Setting Efforts 662.22.8 Federal Direction 652.23 Conclusion 68References 683 Quality Assurance in Disaster Victim Identification: The Case for Standards 93Jason M Wiersema and Michal L Pierce3.1 Introduction 933.2 The Need for Standards in MDI 943.3 The Need for Standards in DVI 963.4 History of Standards Development in DVI 983.5 Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) 993.6 Discussion 1003.7 Adoption of Standards 1023.8 Conclusion 104References 1044 Medical Examiners, Coroners, and Public and Private Agencies 107John A Williams and Jason Wiersema4.1 Introduction 1074.2 The Medical Examiner/Coroner System 1094.3 The US Federal Government and Mass Disasters 1114.4 Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team 1154.5 Transportation Disaster Response 1214.6 State Reponses to Mass Fatalities 1224.7 The Private Sector 1234.8 Summary 123References 1245 DVI Morgue Operations 127John A Williams5.1 Introduction 1275.2 DVI Morgue Considerations 1275.2.1 Morgue Site Selection 1285.2.2 Incident Command System 1295.3 Workflow in the DVI Morgue 1315.4 DVI Morgue Stations 1355.4.1 Non-forensic Stations 1355.4.2 Forensic Stations 1395.5 Information Resource Center 1415.6 Identification and Reconciliation 1425.7 Summary 143References 1436 Forensic Odontology and Disaster Victim Identification 145Kenneth W Aschheim6.1 Introduction 1456.2 Methods of Identification of an Individual 1456.2.1 Non-Dental Methods of Identification 1456.2.2 Dental Identification 1466.3 Theoretical Basis for Comparative Dental Analysis 1476.3.1 Basic Theory 1476.3.2 The 32 Teeth Concept 1496.3.3 Logical Direction of Change 1516.3.4 Comparison Discrepancies 1516.3.5 Concordant Features 1516.4 The Antemortem Dental Record 1536.4.1 Tooth Numbering Systems 1546.5 Laws Governing the Transfer of Protected Dental Information 1556.5.1 Electronic Dental Record 1566.5.2 Issues Concerning Dental Data 1566.6 The Postmortem Dental Record 1566.7 The Dental Autopsy 1576.7.1 Visible Light Fluorescence 1596.7.2 Craniofacial Dissection 1596.7.3 Antemortem Radiographs 1606.7.4 Postmortem Radiographs 1616.7.5 Types of Imaging Devices 1616.7.5.1 Film 1616.7.5.2 Phosphorus Storage Plates (PSP) 1626.7.6 Digital Sensors 1626.7.7 Radiographic Sources 1626.7.8 Types of Dental Radiographs 1636.7.8.1 Intraoral Radiographs 1636.7.8.2 Extraoral Radiographs 1646.7.9 Radiographic Guidelines 1666.8 Intraoral and Extraoral Photographs 1676.8.1 Postmortem Photographs 1686.9 Study Casts 1696.10 Denture Labeling 1706.11 Dental Age Assessment 1716.12 Characterization of Dental Materials 1726.13 Reconciliation 1726.13.1 Source Conclusions 1726.13.2 Serial Unmasking 1736.13.3 Criteria for Comparison and Reconciliation 1736.13.4 Reporting 1746.13.5 Terminology 1746.14 Assembling the Forensic Odontology Team 1746.14.1 Leadership Team 1766.14.2 Administration Team 1766.14.3 Site Assessment Team 1776.14.4 Antemortem Team 1776.14.5 Postmortem Team 1786.14.6 Coding Team 1786.14.7 Information Technology Team 1786.14.8 Photographic Team 1786.14.9 Reconciliation (Comparison) Team 1796.14.10 Identification Review Board (IRB) 1796.15 Computer-Assisted Dental Identification 1796.15.1 Computer Assisted Post-Mortem Identification (CAPMI) 1806.15.2 WinID3 1816.15.3 Uvis/Udim 1836.15.4 Dvi System International 1866.15.5 OdontoSearch 1876.16 Ethical Considerations 1886.17 Demobilization and After-Action Reports 1896.17.1 Demobilization 1896.17.2 Preservation of Dental Data 1896.17.2.1 Preservation of Antemortem Dental Data 1896.17.2.2 Preservation of Postmortem Dental Data 1906.17.3 Post-Action Follow-Up 1906.17.4 Planning and Training 1906.18 Conclusion 191References 1917 Fingerprints and DVI 195Bryan Johnson7.1 Introduction 1957.2 Role of Fingerprints in DVI 1977.3 The DVI Process and Fingerprints 1987.4 Postmortem Fingerprinting Station 2007.5 Personnel and Postmortem Fingerprinting 2037.6 Postmortem Fingerprinting Process 2047.6.1 Inspection and Cleansing 2057.6.2 Rehydration 2057.6.2.1 Macerated Remains 2097.6.2.1.1 Tissue Injection 2097.6.2.1.2 Degloving 2107.6.2.1.3 Boiling Method 2107.6.2.2 Thermal Modification (Charred/burned Skin) 2137.6.2.2.1 Tendon Release 2147.6.2.2.2 Break and Twist Method 2147.6.2.3 Desiccation (Mummification) 2157.6.2.3.1 Sodium Hydroxide Reconditioning 2177.6.2.3.2 Ammonium Hydroxide Reconditioning 2177.6.2.3.3 Detergent Soaking Reconditioning 2187.6.3 Collecting PM Prints 2197.6.3.1 Digital Capture 2197.6.3.2 Powder and Adhesive Lifters 2207.6.3.3 Ink and Paper 2227.6.3.4 Casting 2247.6.3.5 Photography 2257.7 Searching/AM Records 2267.7.1 Database Searches 2277.7.2 AM Purported Knowns 2287.7.3 Palm Prints and Footprints 2297.8 Conclusion 230References 2318 DNA Technology and the Future of Disaster Victim Identification 233Taylor M Dickerson III8.1 Introduction 2338.2 STRs and Mini-STRs 2358.3 Lineage Markers 2378.4 Next Generation Sequencing 2408.5 Rapid DNA 2418.6 Conclusion 243References 2439 The Victim Information Center and Data Collection: Its Evolving Role in DVI 249Jason H Byrd9.1 Introduction 2499.1.1 History of the Family Assistance Center 2509.2 Overall Function of the Victim Information Center 2519.2.1 Incident Operations 2529.2.2 Meeting the Needs of Families and Survivors 2539.2.3 Briefings and Communication 2549.3 Components of the Victim Information Center 2559.3.1 Temporary Reception Center 2559.3.2 Call Centers 2559.3.2.1 Missing Persons Call Center 2569.3.2.2 Air Carrier Call Center 2569.4 Accounting for the Victims 2579.4.1 Victim Information Program 2579.5 Considerations for the Victim Information Center 2599.5.1 Equipment and Personnel 2599.5.2 Function and Location 2619.5.3 Closing the Victim Information Center 2629.6 Available Resources 263References 26410 Ethical and Legal Considerations 265Victor W Weedn10.1 Introduction 26510.2 State Authority for Fatality Management 26510.3 Federal Medicolegal Death Investigations 26710.3.1 Assassination of the President or Other Federal Officials 26710.4 Legislatively Mandated Scientific Identification 26710.5 Missing Persons Acts and Presumptive Deaths 26810.6 Rights of the Dead 26910.7 Rights of Others in the Dead 26910.8 Constitutional Considerations in Responding to Disasters 27010.9 Emergency Powers 27110.10 Stafford Act 27110.11 Federal Executive Administration 27410.12 State and Local Executive Administration 27610.13 Military Assistance 27610.14 Transportation Incidents 27810.15 Terrorist Incidents 27910.16 Infectious Epidemics 27910.17 National Emergency Family Registry and LocatorSystem/National Call Center 28010.18 International Legal Considerations in DVI 28110.18.1 The US Department of State 28110.18.2 Nation-specific Laws 28110.18.3 Obligation to Identify Victims 28210.18.4 International Disaster Response Law 28310.18.5 International Treaties 28410.18.6 International Humanitarian Law 28610.18.7 International Human Rights Law 28710.18.8 Missing and Disappeared Treaties 28810.18.9 International Resources 28810.18.10 Aviation and Maritime Deaths 29010.18.11 Presumed Deaths 29110.18.12 Customs 29210.18.13 Telecommunications 29210.18.14 International Framework for Risk Reduction 29210.19 Ethical Considerations in DVI 29310.19.1 Community Resilience 29510.19.2 Equal Treatment 29610.19.3 Respectful Treatment of the Remains 29610.19.4 Respect for the Beliefs of the Deceased 29610.19.5 Respect for Loved Ones 29610.19.6 Respectful Communications 29710.19.7 Haitian Example [184–186] 29710.20 Conclusion 298References 29911 DVI in the Changing Twenty-first Century 313Cynthia S Gavin11.1 Introduction 31311.2 Trend Analysis 31411.2.1 Megatrend #1: Population Shift and Megacity Growth 31511.2.2 Megatrend #2: Change in Disaster Types that Result in MFIs 31511.2.3 Megatrend #3: Massive Technological Advancement 31811.2.4 Megatrend #4: Social Media and Social Expectations 32011.2.5 Megatrend #5: The Specialization of Ethics 32111.2.6 Megatrend #6: A New Dynamic Disaster Management System 32211.2.7 Megatrend #7: A New DVI Model 32311.2.8 Megatrend #8: Healthcare and the National and International Privatization of Medicine 32511.3 Forcefield Analysis 32611.3.1 Drivers of Change: Regulation and Legal Factors 32611.3.2 Drivers and Constrainers of Change: Politics 32811.3.3 Constrainers of Change 33211.3.4 A Neutral Context to Gain Insight regarding Driving and Constraining Forces 33711.4 DVI Futures in the Twenty-first Century 33911.4.1 The Quantum Forensics World 34011.4.2 The Modern Crowners World 34111.4.3 The Launch-Resistant Forensics World 34211.4.4 The Hey Buddy Innovator World 34211.5 Future DVI Strategy Performance 34311.5.1 DVI Strategies 34311.5.2 Stress-Testing Strategies Against DVI Futures 34411.6 SWOT Analysis 35011.6.1 Strengths 35011.6.2 Weaknesses 35111.6.3 Opportunities 35111.6.4 Threats 35211.7 Actionable Recommendations 35211.7.1 Refresh the ME/C Mission Statement 35211.7.2 Create an Enduring DVI Vision 35411.7.3 Envision a Future Smart Independent Regional Forensic Science System and Move Toward Implementing This Model 35611.7.4 Develop Alternate DVI Standards 35811.8 Closing Thoughts 360References 362Index 371