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Concentration units used to report blood- and breath-alcohol concentration for legal purposes differ between countries which is important to consider when blood/breath ratios of alcohol are compared and contrasted
Linköping University, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
2024 (English)In: Journal of Forensic Sciences, ISSN 0022-1198, E-ISSN 1556-4029, Vol. 69, no 4, p. 1473-1480Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This technical note reviews the plethora of concentration units used to report blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) and breath-alcohol concentrations (BrAC) for legal purposes in different countries. The choice of units sometimes causes confusion when scientific papers originating from a certain country might be introduced into evidence via expert testimony, such as when alcohol-related crimes are prosecuted. The concentration units are also important to consider when blood/breath ratios (BBRs) of alcohol are calculated and compared between countries. Statutory BAC limits for driving in most nations are reported in mass/volume (m/v) units, such as g/100 mL (g%) in the United States, mg/100 mL (mg%) in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, or g/L (mg/mL) in many EU nations. By contrast, Germany and the Nordic countries report BAC as mass/mass (m/m) units, hence g/kg or mg/g, which are similar to 5.5% lower than m/v units, because whole blood has an average density of 1.055 g/mL. There are historical reasons for reporting BAC in mass/mass units because the aliquots of blood analyzed were measured by weight rather than volume. The difference between m/m and m/v is also important in postmortem toxicology, such as when distribution ratios of ethanol between blood and other biological specimens, such as urine, vitreous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid, are reported.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY , 2024. Vol. 69, no 4, p. 1473-1480
Keywords [en]
alcohol; analysis; blood; breath; concentration units; drunken driving; ethanol; jurisprudence
National Category
Forensic Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-202506DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15511ISI: 001189310900001PubMedID: 38520069Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85189160728OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-202506DiVA, id: diva2:1851892
Available from: 2024-04-16 Created: 2024-04-16 Last updated: 2025-02-18Bibliographically approved

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Jones, A Wayne

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