title: Can handling E85 motor fuel cause positive breath alcohol test results?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. ran@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mullins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001336:Automobiles; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000032:analysis*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005742:Gasoline / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013696:Temperature; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D005742:Gasoline; D000431:Ethanol