TY - JOUR PY - 2013// TI - Can handling E85 motor fuel cause positive breath alcohol test results? JO - Journal of analytical toxicology A1 - Ran, Ran A1 - Mullins, Michael E. SP - 430 EP - 432 VL - 37 IS - 7 N2 - Hand-held breath alcohol analyzers are widely used by police in traffic stops of drivers suspected of driving while intoxicated (DWI). E85 is a motor fuel consisting of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbons, and is available at nearly 2,600 stations in the USA. We sought to determine whether handling E85 fuel could produce measurable breath alcohol results using a hand-held analyzer and to see if this would be a plausible explanation for a positive breath alcohol test. Five healthy adult subjects dispensed or transferred 8 US gallons of E85 fuel in each of four scenarios. We measured breath alcohol concentration in g/210 L of exhaled breath using the BACTrack S50 at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20 min after each fuel-handling scenario. Most of the subjects had no detectable breath alcohol after handling E85 motor fuel. Transient elevations (0.02-0.04 g/210 L) in breath alcohol measurement occurred up to 6 min after handling E85 in a minority of subjects. We conclude that it is unlikely that handling E85 motor fuel would result in erroneous prosecution for DWI.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0146-4760 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkt049 ID - ref1 ER -