Forensic Toxicology: Alcohol
- What factors affect BAC? Formula? Know how to calculate.
- Legal limit for an adult in Ontario?
- Purpose of the alcohol breath test?
- What type of analysis do breathalyzers use? (MS, GCMS, IR…..??)
- Steps taken if you are stopped for drinking while driving? Detail
What factors affect BAC? Formula? Know how to calculate.
Factors determine the rate at which alcohol is absorbed
◦ %%time is taken to consume the drink,%%
%%◦ the alcohol content,%%
%%◦ the amount consumed,%%
%%◦ and the food present in the stomach.%%
^^BAC Male formula^^ = (A)(D) (5.14) divided by (weight)(0.73)
A= Alcohol consumed in ounces (oz), D= Percentage of alcohol written as a decimal and Wt is the weight of the person in pounds
= (A)(D) (5.14) divided by (weight)(0.66)
A= Alcohol consumed in ounces (oz), D= Percentage of alcohol written as a decimal and Wt is the weight of the person in pounds
Legal limit for an adult in Ontario?
In Ontario and the rest of Canada, the ^^maximum legal BAC for fully licensed drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (0.08).^^
Driving with a BAC of over 0.08 is a criminal offence. Beginner drivers, and all drivers under the age of 21, must have a blood alcohol level of zero
Purpose of the alcohol breath test?
It’s the degree of the interaction of the light with alcohol in the captured breath sample that allows the instrument to measure a blood alcohol concentration in breath.
What type of analysis do breathalyzers use? (MS, GCMS, IR…..??)
- Many types of breath testers are designed to analyze a set volume of breath.
- The captured breath is exposed to infrared light.
- It’s the degree of the interaction of the light with alcohol in the captured breath sample that allows the instrument to measure a blood alcohol concentration in breath.
- Most of the breath-alcohol analyzers currently used for evidential purposes use ^^infrared (IR) spectrometry. ^^