The Determination of Foreign Fibre Groups on Non-fabric Seats

Abstract

The population of foreign fibre groups from four indoor venue seats and two outdoor seats were evaluated in Auckland, New Zealand during autumn. Techniques employed included comparison microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A total of 3343 fibres were identified and categorized into the following colour groups: red, orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, purple, brown, grey/black; and fibre types: cotton, wool, other vegetable, polyacrylonitrile/acrylic, polyester, acetate/triacetate, polyamide/nylon, viscose/rayon/cellulose and polyolefin/olefin. The most frequent type of fibres found on all seats was cotton followed by polyester for all but two of the seats, in which case the next most frequent fibre type was wool. Viscose rayon also represented in high numbers throughout the seats, with it frequently being the third most common fibre type. Wool was also a frequently recovered fibre type despite the temperate weather conditions, with nylon and acrylic also being present in reasonable numbers. Silk was also found in one venue and two polyolefin fibres were also recovered from two separate seats. Seat surfaces showed differences in the length of fibres recovered, with a non-lacquered-wooden seat containing the most short fibres (<0.5 mm) possibly suggesting the ability of wood grain to retain short fibres. It also appeared that plastic surfaces in one venue retained longer fibres, possibly due to the presence of electrostatic charges. Compared to previous literature this research displayed similar results with regard to cotton being one of the dominant fibre types and that black/grey fibres and blue fibres were the most common colours found. Interesting differences in the proportion of fibre colours present were found and could be dependent on the clientele of the venues. This research provides useful background data to assist in estimating fibre frequencies for the statistical interpretation of fibre evidence on non-fabric seat surfaces.