Transcript Alcohol Testing Done Affordably

Alcohol Testing Done
Affordably
Mike Suchocki
Covered Topics
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Reasons for testing
Types of alcohol tests
How alcohol testers work
Personal devices for alcohol testing
Advantages and Disadvantages
Reasons for Testing
Prosecute drunk drivers
Ensure sober employees
Recognize alcohol abuse
Personal knowledge of impairment
Types of Tests
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Blood - Standard for alcohol testing (BAC)
Breath - Four different types
Urine - quantitatively inaccurate
Saliva - Correlation with BAC unknown
Sobriety - series of tests to judge impairment
• http://www.intox.com/wheel/drinkwheel.asp
Blood Alcohol Testing
• Uses Gas Chromatography
Breath Alcohol Testing
• Breathalyzer
• Intoxilyzer
• Fuel Cell Detector
• Semiconductor
All based on different principles
Has a correlation of 1 to 2100 breath to
blood ratio
Breathalyzer
Uses a chemical reaction to cause a color
change
Intoxilyzer
Measures the Wavelengths of bonds in Alcohol
With the Absorption of IR light
Fuel Cell Detector
Process of oxidizing alcohol
An alcohol molecule can free a certain
number of electrons
Semiconductor
• Measures a current produced by a
voltage on a transition metal oxide
• Alcohol in contact with the bead causes
a change of resistivity
Breath Testing Devices
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Breathalyzer - $40-550
Intoxilyzer - $60-6,000
Fuel Cell - $480 (portable)
Semiconductor - $40 (portable)
References
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http://www.intox.com/wheel/drinkwheel.asp
http://science.howstuffworks.com/breathalyzer.htm
http://chem.lapeer.org/chem1docs/Breathalyzer.html
http://educ.queensu.ca/~science/main/concept/chem/c03/C03de
ae4.htm
• http://www.intox.com/fuelcell.asp
• http://shop.store.yahoo.com/campingsurvival/howbreatwor.html
• http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Misc/driving/s5p4.htm
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http://www.answers.com/topic/blood-alcohol-test-assumptions