부산대학교 도서관

Breath alcohol test is the most frequently used technique to determine drivers with alcohol impairment with an ease of measurement at the roadside using a screening device, called breathalyzer. However, the drawbacks of breathalyzer is the interference resulted from the use of a mouthwash and the alcohol remained in the oral cavity right after the alcohol consumption. In order to determine the factors that affect the false positive results, the breath alcohol concentration was measured over time using 4 alcohol solutions(2 types of alcoholic beverages and 2 types of mouthwashes) with 5 Korean male adults. The results showed that the remaining time of ethanol in mouth was longer with the higher concentration of alcohol contents in the solution. Mouth rinsing affected the remaining time of ethanol in mouth significantly reducing the alcohol concentration in mouth. The comparison of rinsing times and the remaining time of alcohol showed that breath alcohol test is not affected after 15 min. of the mouthwash use and the remained ethanol in mouth with the alcohol content less than 30%. Although it was determined that the breath alcohol concentration is not affected in the certain circumstance, it is necessary to take all factors(concentrations and types of alcohol, elapsed time after the consumption, individual metabolic differences, and other environmental conditions) to determine the breath alcohol concentration.