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HOW YOUR BLOOD GETS TESTED IN NEW YORK....WITHOUT EVER TESTING
YOUR ACTUAL BLOOD...
Huh? What you say?
If you are suspected of drugged driving or drunk driving in New York, then you will likely be subject to a BLOOD TEST by the police.
If you give or are forced to give a sample of your blood to be tested in a New York crime lab, then your blood itself... WILL PROBABLY NOT BE TESTED.
Instead, the gas portion of a vial containing your blood will be tested.
WHAT AM I TALKIN' BOUT?
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Let me break it down. There are two common ways to analyze and separate compounds in liquid like human blood.
1. Gas Chromatography (where the actual liquid is heated into gas form and tested)
AND...
2. HEADSPACE Gas Chromatography (where only the GAS from a liquid sample is tested)
I'm referring to #2.
What is "Headspace Gas Chromatography" ?
It is basically the same process as regular Gas Chromatography; however, only the vapor from a liquid is measured and broken down by the machine (instead of the liquid itself...).
Why does that matter if they use this method of testing on your blood in a DWI or DWAI drugs case?
...BECAUSE IT CAN BE INACCURATE.
Problems with Headspace Gas Chromatography
1. Twice the amount of potential error as regular Gas Chromatography:
The blood is taken by a human from your arm (possible error), then the blood is warmed in a vial until the liquid sample reaches "equilibrium" with the gas inside the vial (possible error). Then a human removes a sample of the gas inside the vial (possible error).
2. The principle of measuring the GAS instead of the Blood itself is the same as in breath testing. It relies on a scientific principle called "Henry's Law."
Henry's Law states:
What is "Headspace Gas Chromatography" ?
It is basically the same process as regular Gas Chromatography; however, only the vapor from a liquid is measured and broken down by the machine (instead of the liquid itself...).
Why does that matter if they use this method of testing on your blood in a DWI or DWAI drugs case?
...BECAUSE IT CAN BE INACCURATE.
Problems with Headspace Gas Chromatography
1. Twice the amount of potential error as regular Gas Chromatography:
The blood is taken by a human from your arm (possible error), then the blood is warmed in a vial until the liquid sample reaches "equilibrium" with the gas inside the vial (possible error). Then a human removes a sample of the gas inside the vial (possible error).
2. The principle of measuring the GAS instead of the Blood itself is the same as in breath testing. It relies on a scientific principle called "Henry's Law."
Henry's Law states:
From the definition, you can see that temperature can affect the validity of any sample. Also, if the sample has NOT reached "equilibrium" then the sample itself would be invalid.
3. There are additional chemicals added to the blood sample to "help along" any alcohol rising into the GAS portion of the vial. These are called "salting agents." Chemically, it is possible that these added chemicals could create a HIGHER CONCENTRATION OF ALCOHOL in any gas sample... called a false positive.
IF YOU ARE CHARGED WITH DWAI Drugs or DWI and you
gave a sample of your blood to police, call us:
607-229-5184
Send me an email: mike.ithacadwi@gmail.com
Copyright Cyr & Associates 2015
By Mike Cyr
www.ithacadwi.com
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