Results of a proposed breath alcohol proficiency test program.

Auteur(s)
Gullberg, R.G. & Logan, B.K.
Jaar
Samenvatting

Although proficiency test programs have long been used in both clinical and forensic laboratories, they have not found uniform application in forensic breath alcohol programs. An initial effort to develop a proficiency test program appropriate to forensic breath alcohol analysis is described herein. A total of 11 jurisdictions participated in which 27 modern instruments were evaluated. Five wet bath simulator solutions with ethanol vapor concentrations ranging from 0.0254 to 0.2659 g/210 L were sent to participating programs, instructing them to perform n=10 measurements on each solution using the same instrument. Four of the solutions contained ethanol only and one contained ethanol mixed with acetone. The systematic errors for all instruments ranged from -11.3% to +11.4% while the coefficient of variations ranged from zero to 6.1%. A components-of-variance analysis revealed at least 79% of the total variance as being due to the between-instrument component for all concentrations. Improving proficiency test program development should consider: (1) clear protocol instructions, (2) frequency of proficiency testing, (3) use lower concentrations for determining limits-of-detection and -quantitation, etc. Despite the lack of a biological component, proficiency test participation should enhance the credibility of forensic breath test programs. (Author/publisher)

Publicatie aanvragen

4 + 0 =
Los deze eenvoudige rekenoefening op en voer het resultaat in. Bijvoorbeeld: voor 1+3, voer 4 in.

Publicatie

Bibliotheeknummer
20060437 ST [electronic version only]
Uitgave

Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 51 (2006), No. 1 (January), p. 168-172, 13 ref.

Onze collectie

Deze publicatie behoort tot de overige publicaties die we naast de SWOV-publicaties in onze collectie hebben.