NCJ Number
140080
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 37 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 1363-1372
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study determined that mouth alcohol, if present in high enough concentrations, can falsely bias the accurate measurement of end-expiratory breath alcohol.
Abstract
Three male volunteers served as study participants. Prior to consuming an alcoholic beverage, each subject was instructed to rinse the mouth with an 80-proof alcoholic beverage for about 10 seconds. To evaluate the rate at which alcohol cleared itself from the oral cavity after it was expelled, subjects provided breath samples into an infrared breath alcohol instrument. Findings revealed that, as the end-expiratory breath alcohol concentration increased, the time necessary for mouth alcohol to decrease to unbiased levels declined. Fifteen minutes of observation time prior to breath alcohol analysis appeared to be more than adequate at forensically relevant concentrations. Models used to assess the elimination rate of mouth alcohol are discussed, as well as the forensic science importance of breath alcohol analysis. 21 references, 2 tables, and 3 figures