ABSTRACT

Breath alcohol testing also introduces the idea of calibration laboratories and accreditation as a calibration laboratory. Up to this point, we have discussed analyses typical in forensic science laboratories that would be accredited by entities such as the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/ Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). Laboratories that verify the performance of BrAC detectors are performing a calibration function and are usually accredited under ISO17025. However, these laboratories don’t calibrate instruments in the same sense as a forensic chemist would calibrate a gas chromatographic assay. These laboratories check and verify instruments but don’t perform board-level maintenance on the units.