Bromide detection in blood using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence; a chemical marker supportive of drowning in seawater

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDX) enables rapid, non-destructive, multi-elemental analysis. Using EDX, bromide was detected in seawater but not in freshwater. We applied EDX to the detection of bromide in cardiac blood from medico-legal autopsy cases to obtain additional evidence supportive of seawater drowning. Bromide was detected in the blood of 4 out of 10 victims drowned in seawater. In contrast, bromide concentrations were below the quantification limit in both victims from freshwater drowning and non-drowning controls. No postmortem invasion of bromide was observed in animal experiments of postmortem immersion in seawater. These results indicate that the detection of bromide in blood by EDX could be a chemical marker supportive of drowning in seawater.