WHITE PAPER SERIES PASSIVE TESTING FOR ALCOHOL ABSTRACT Stricter workplace health and safety regulations now require increased compliance in alcohol related workplace accidents and incidents. While the Australian industries move toward meeting compliances and avoid related costs and consequences this paper helps to define passive testing: its purpose, best practices, dispels some misconceptions and also answers some frequently asked questions.
INTRODUCTION The need for companies to comply with strict Workplace Health and Safety regulations, together with the significant and broad ranging costs of workplace accidents, has led to a large number of businesses in Australia, and internationally to adopt in-house alcohol testing. Naturally this testing comes at a cost to business, so increasingly businesses have sought to reduce not only the cost per test, but to speed up the process to minimise downtime associated with the conduct of these tests. WHITE PAPER SERIES: Passive Testing for Alcohol 2 of 6
By introducing so called Passive alcohol testing, companies have been able to: Speed up the testing of workers (particularly important where zero tolerance sites test every person entering the workplace every day); Reduce the use of plastic mouthpieces required for Standard alcohol testing, thus reducing cost per test; Reduce the environmental impact of the need to dispose of large numbers of single use plastic mouthpieces. The above provide significant benefits for companies conducting on-site alcohol testing, but before introducing passive testing, companies should ensure they fully understand both the benefits and the limitations of this form of alcohol testing. Most importantly, staff engaged in conducting passive testing should be well trained, understand the limitations, and know how and when to use passive testing in conjunction with standard (mouthpiece) testing to maximise safety in the workplace. WHAT IS PASSIVE TESTING? Passive testing for alcohol is a process where a sample of a subject s breath is analysed without the use of a mouthpiece or any physical contact. It commonly involves a subject exhaling/blowing/ talking within close proximity of an alcohol breath testing device. The instrument uses an internal pump to draw in a sample of ambient air from around the inlet of the instrument, then analyses that air sample for the presence of any alcohol. Activation of the instrument pump to draw in the sample may be manually instigated by the operator of the instrument, or automatically activated by an internal pressure sensor detecting a flow of air over the instrument inlet. BRIEF HISTORY Alcohol breath testing was invented in the 1950 s to provide a means by which Police could test drivers for the presence of alcohol, without the need for invasive blood or urine tests. As the awareness of the dangers of drink driving became more apparent, and the Police dramatically increased their level of roadside alcohol testing, the costs similarly increased. Police forces began looking to alcohol breath test manufacturers for ways to reduce cost per test, Police time per test, and inconvenience to motorists. Passive testing was trialled by Police in the 1990 s, but proved to be problematic. Police were concerned that passive testing failed to detect some drivers who had consumed alcohol, and therefore posed a risk. Whilst a number of manufacturers offered a passive testing option, it was not adopted by any Australian Police Forces. In 2002, Australian manufacturer Alcolizer Technology undertook extensive research and development on passive testing for alcohol. The result of several years of work, and the use of some innovative technology, saw Alcolizer offer a passive testing mode in its ground breaking Alcolizer LE3 instrument. This instrument went on to become a finalist in the Australian Design Awards, led to Alcolizer being awarded Queensland Small Business of the Year, and saw Australia s largest Police Force adopt passive testing for frontline roadside alcohol testing, which is still in use today. It is important to note that Police use passive testing as a pre-preliminary breath test for alcohol. The purpose of a roadside passive test for Police is to conduct a quick, low-cost, effective test for the presence of alcohol. If a passive test detects the presence of alcohol, this provides legal justification for Police to conduct a preliminary breath test. A preliminary breath test, otherwise known as a standard or active test, requires use of a mouthpiece. WHITE PAPER SERIES: Passive Testing for Alcohol 3 of 6
This test involves the instrument drawing in and analysing a sample of the subject s deep lung air to determine a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC). This quantitative, numeric result from the preliminary breath test is then used as legal justification for Police to conduct a further test, an evidential breath analysis (EBA), the results of which test provide the evidence upon which the offender is charged. Passive test result showing no alcohol present. THE PURPOSE OF PASSIVE TESTING Passive testing should not be confused with standard (mouthpiece) testing. The primary purpose of passive testing is to rapidly establish that no alcohol is present. For Police, this means motorists can be quickly moved on with minimal traffic disruption and drain on Police resources. For industry users and workplace health and safety, the purpose of passive testing is largely the same. That is to establish no alcohol is present in a worker being tested, enabling the worker to safely commence work on time. The more efficiently such testing can be conducted, and the lower the cost per test, the greater the benefit to the company. ACCURACY VS SENSITIVITY Passive test result showing alcohol is found to be present. An evidential test may follow. An important misconception with passive testing, is that it in any way involves accuracy of the amount of alcohol in a tested subject. It does not! The best quality alcohol breath testers, as used by Police, do not produce an alcohol reading for a passive test. They indicate primarily that no alcohol has been detected, or that alcohol has been detected in or around the instrument at the time a subject is being tested. It is important to note that if alcohol is detected, it does not automatically mean the subject being tested has consumed alcohol. Sources for alcohol detected by the instrument from a passive test may include: Alcohol in the blood of the subject, indicating that the subject has consumed alcohol; Alcohol in the breath of the subject that may be the result of: Alcohol the subject has consumed; Traces of ethanol (alcohol) from foods the subject has consumed; Traces of ethanol from medications the subject has consumed; Traces of ethanol from non-medicinal products eg. mouthwashes, fresh breath sprays, confectionary, etc. Alcohol in the ambient air around the instrument at the time of the passive test: Alcohol from perfumes or aftershave; Alcohol in solvents or cleaning products; Alcohol in fuel products, etc. From the above it is clear that a passive test may detect the presence of alcohol in the sample of ambient air at the time of test, but the source of that alcohol is not solely limited to the subject being tested. What is extremely important is that if any alcohol is present in the ambient air surrounding the instrument at the time of the test, then the instrument can detect it. For this reason, it is the sensitivity of the instrument to detect alcohol, not the ability of the instrument to accurately determine the level of alcohol in the subject that is of prime importance. WHITE PAPER SERIES: Passive Testing for Alcohol 4 of 6
A quality alcohol tester with a passive mode function has the ability to significantly increase the sensitivity for alcohol, thereby ensuring that if alcohol is present at the time of the passive test, regardless of the source of that alcohol, then the instrument will detect it. Once alcohol is detected, the instrument is flagging the need for a further standard (mouthpiece) test to establish if the source of the alcohol is the subject being tested, and if that is the case, an accurate reading of the subject s blood alcohol reading (BAC) or breath alcohol reading (BrAC). Note: The difference between a BAC and BrAC is simply the unit of measure used to record and display the alcohol reading. Effectively, they mean the same thing. WILL A PASSIVE TEST ALWAYS DETECT THE PRESENCE OF ALCOHOL? If a quality alcohol breath tester, capable of increased sensitivity in passive testing mode is used, and the test is conducted by a well-trained operator in accordance with manufacturer s instructions, passive tests are very reliable in detecting the presence of alcohol. If we assume a quality alcohol tester with passive test mode is used, the possible shortcomings for passive testing are limited predominantly to operator error, and possible environmental factors within the control of the operator. A passive test that fails to detect the presence of alcohol can be the result of: The operator holding the instrument too far from the subject s mouth; The operator mistiming the manual activation of the test activating the test when the subject is not blowing of talking directly towards the instrument inlet; Inadequate instructions to the subject on how to deliver a satisfactory breath sample; Operating the instrument in an environment that may alter the ambient air immediately surrounding the instrument inlet windy conditions (outdoors), near a fan or air-conditioner (indoors), etc. Recent technological advancements have led to the introduction of pressure activated passive testing where the blow pressure of the subject automatically triggers the instrument to take a sample of ambient air, thus increasing the likelihood that the analysis of alcohol will centre on the breath of the subject. However, this does not rule out the above environmental influences that can influence the outcome of a passive test. A POSITIVE PASSIVE TEST FOR ALCOHOL THE NEXT STEP Passive testing in industry situations is a valuable first step towards ensuring a workplace remains alcohol free. However, it is extremely important that industry users of passive testing adopt a similar process to Police. Any passive test that detects the presence of alcohol should result in the following course of action: The subject should be required to undergo a supervised withholding period of 15 minutes (nothing but water allowed); A second standard test for alcohol using a mouthpiece should be conducted on the subject to determine the presence of alcohol in the blood. If alcohol is present, an accurate BAC or BrAC reading will be determined; If this subsequent standard test produces a zero alcohol reading, it should be assumed that the initial passive test result positive for alcohol was the result of non-alcohol consumption, as outlined earlier. Note: Some people refer to such passive test results as false positives. This is generally incorrect. A quality instrument that displays a positive passive test reading has almost always detected alcohol (ethanol), it is simply that this alcohol is not from the subject having consumed alcohol, but from another source. WHITE PAPER SERIES: Passive Testing for Alcohol 5 of 6
ABOUT ALCOLIZER TECHNOLOGY Alcolizer Technology is a world-leader in Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) testing and is recognized as one of Australia s most innovative and forward-thinking companies. Headquartered in Perth, Australia, with offices around Australia they have been one of the world s leading manufacturers of alcohol breath testing equipment for over 25 years; law enforcement agencies, industry and personal users trust Alcolizer to keep themselves and their employees safe. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laurie Wilson is an independent consultant in the field of alcohol and drug testing. Laurie has over 20 years of experience working with manufacturers, NGO s, Police and industry in more than 15 countries, the training of thousands of Police Officers, the development of AOD Training Courses, and as an advisor to Government Departments. Alcolizer is the largest provider of alcohol detection equipment to law enforcement in Australia and is one of the largest providers to the Australian Resource sector. Alcolizer products designed-developed in Australia but shipped around the world wherever people value quality, reliability and innovation. We offer tailored education programs to help our customers meet the challenges of AOD program deployment and our factory certified technical support, when, and where, you need it. Alcolizer leading-edge products and services ensure you are working with a world leader in this essential field. Copyright Alcolizer Technology (Alcolizer Pty Ltd) 2018 Publish date: 6 February 2018 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from Alcolizer Technology. www.alcolizer.com 1300 789 908 WHITE PAPER SERIES: Passive Testing for Alcohol 6 of 6