Priority Action Report

Toxicology Subcommittee

Chemistry / Instrumental Analysis Scientific Area Committee

Marc A. LeBeau, PhD, F-ABFT

February 14, 2017
Discipline Description

The OSAC Subcommittee on

Toxicology will focus on standards

and guidelines related to the

analysis of biological samples for

alcohol, drugs, or poisons, and the

interpretation of these results.

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Subcommittee Leadership

Position Name Organization Term Email

Chair Marc A LeBeau, PhD FBI 2019 marc.lebeau@ic.fbi.gov

Vice Chair Melissa Kennedy, MS ANAB 2017 mkennedy@anab.org

Executive 

Secretary Fiona Couper, PhD WA State Patrol 2019 fiona.couper@wsp.wa.gov

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Subcommittee Members

# Name Organization Term Email

1 Daniel Anderson, MS CO Bureau of 

Investigation 2017 daniel.anderson@state.co.us

2 Sabra Botch-Jones, MS Boston University 2018 sabraj@bu.edu

3 Dan Dunsworth Intoximeter, Inc. 2019 ddunsworth@intox.com

4 Kenneth Ferslew, PhD East TN State University 2018 ferslew@etsu.edu

5 Marilyn Huestis, PhD University of Maryland 2018 marilyn.huestis@gmail.com

6 Robert Johnson, PhD Tarrant County ME’s 

Office 2017 rdjohnson@tarrantcounty.com

7 Matthew Juhascik, PhD Montgomery County

Coroner’s Office 2017 juhascikm@mcohio.org

8 Philip Kemp , PhD FAA 2017 philip.kemp@faa.gov
Subcommittee Members

# Name Organization Term Email

9 Jennifer Limoges, MSFS NY State Police 2019 jennifer.limoges@troopers.ny.gov

10 Robert Middleberg, PhD NMS Labs 2019 robert.middleberg@nmslabs.com

11 Madeline Montgomery FBI 2018 madeline.montgomery@ic.fbi.gov

12 Sumandeep Rana, PhD Redwood Toxicology 

Laboratories 2017 srana@redwoodtoxicology.com

13 Jeri Ropero-Miller, PhD RTI International 2019 jerimiller@rti.org

14 Mark Ruefenacht Private Metrologist 2017 mark@forensicmetrology.com

15 Robert Sears, MS SC Law Enforcement 

Division 2019 robsears@sled.sc.gov

16 Ruth Winecker, PhD NC Office of Chief ME 2018 ruth.winecker@dhhs.nc.gov

17 Dustin Tate Yeatman, MS Palm Beach County 

Sheriff 2018 yeatmand@pbso.org
45%

20%

15%

10%

10%

Membership Breakdown

State/ Local Practitioners Researchers/Academicians Federal Practitioners

Private Practitioners R&D Technology Partners
Affiliates

# Name Organization

1 Amanda Black Washington State Patrol

2 Nichole Bynum RTI International

3 Dennis Crouch Consultant

4 Albert Elian Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab

5 Chris Fontenot Jefferson County Regional Crime Lab

6 Megan Grabenauer RTI International

7 Susan Hackworthy Wisconsin Department of Transportation

8 Curt Harper Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences

9 Chris Heartsill Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office

10 Carrie Kirkton New York State Police

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Affiliates

# Name Organization

11 Robert Kronstrand National Board of Forensic Medicine (Sweden)

12 Scott Larson Montana State Crime Lab

13 Laura Liddicoat Centre of Forensic Sciences

14 Dani Mata Orange County Crime Laboratory

15 Christine Moore Immunalysis

16 Sue Pearring Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory

17 Karl Scheidweiler National Institute on Drug Abuse

18 Peter Stout Houston Forensic Science Center

19 Nicholas Tiscione Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

20 Jarrad Wagner Oklahoma State University

21 Frank Wallace Ameritox, LLC

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August 2017 OSAC Toxicology Subcommittee Meeting

Phoenix, Arizona
Standard versus Guideline

Standards:

• Specify uniform methods, actions, practices, processes, or protocols.

• Mandatory compliance except under unusual circumstances.

• “Minimum expectations”

• Needs to be achievable

Guidelines:

• Strong recommendation of a method, action, practice, or process to 

consider in the absence of applicable standards or best practices.

• “Best practice”

• May not be achievable today

• Should become a standard at some point
OSAC Review/Approval of Standards of Practice 
Summary of Standards/Guidelines Under 

Draft by OSAC Toxicology Subcommittee

• Standard for Uncertainty of Measurement in Forensic Toxicology

• Define minimum requirements for establishing measurement uncertainty in 

forensic toxicology

• Standard for Mass Spectrometry Data Evaluation in Forensic Toxicology

• Establish minimum standard for setup of mass spectrometry analyses and 

evaluation of mass spectral data

• Standard for Minimum Testing Requirements in Forensic Toxicology

• Define minimum expectations for testing in different subdisciplines of forensic 

toxicology

• Standard for Identification Criteria in Forensic Toxicology

• Establish an identification point system to allow forensic toxicology laboratories 

to any combination of validated methods to confidently identify analytes

• Standard for Breath Alcohol Measuring Instrument Calibration

• Delineate minimum standard for calibrating breath alcohol measuring instruments 

for evidentiary purposes

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OSAC Review/Approval of Standards of Practice 
Summary of Standards/Guidelines 

Drafted by OSAC Toxicology 

Subcommittee and Forwarded to ASB

• Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology

• Minimum requirements for establishing measurement traceability in forensic 

toxicology laboratories

• Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology

• Minimum standards of practice for validating analytical methods in the field 

of forensic toxicology

• Standard Practices for a Quality Control Program in Forensic Toxicology 

Laboratories

• Minimum standards of practice for quality control in forensic toxicology 

laboratories

• Standard for Report Content in Forensic Toxicology

• Minimum requirements for forensic toxicology report content

• Guidelines for Opinions and Testimony in Forensic Toxicology

• Guidance on practices in forensic toxicology opinions and testimony

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OSAC Review/Approval of Standards of Practice 
Summary of Standards/Guidelines 

Finalized by ASB and Proposed for 

OSAC Registry

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Other Standards/Guidelines to be 

Drafted by OSAC Toxicology Subcommittee

• Standard for Content of Forensic Toxicology Standard Operating Procedures

• Guideline for Specimen Collection and Storage in Forensic Toxicology

• Standard for Proficiency Testing in Forensic Toxicology

• Guidelines for Education and Training in Forensic Toxicology Laboratories

• Guidelines for Accrediting Bodies of Forensic Toxicology Laboratories

• Standard for Breath Alcohol Instrumentation Specifications

• Standard for Blood Alcohol Calculations

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Research Gaps Identified

• Emerging Drugs of Abuse and Therapeutic Agents

• Develop analytical methods, evaluate existing and novel 

sample preparation techniques, epidemiological studies, 

metabolite identification, post-mortem distribution, 

pharmacodynamics/pharmacokinetic studies

• Herbal and Dietary Supplements and Plant-based 

Toxins

• Develop analytical methods, improve understanding of toxicity

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Research Gaps Identified

• Human Factors Impact on Forensic Toxicology

• Determine whether cognitive and contextual biases impact how 

cases are analyzed and conclusions made, impacts of 

motivational issues, fitness for duty (e.g. fatigue, visual acuity), 

scientific culture, group dynamics and error management

• Postmortem Distribution and Redistribution

• Comprehensive tissue distribution studies to provide data on 

relationship between tissue and blood drug/metabolite 

concentrations, further characterization of chemical/biological 

mechanisms of PMR, specific chemical markers to provide 

evidence of PMR, development of mathematical relationships to 

evaluate PMR

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Wrap Up

•Get Involved!

• Sign up for OSAC

•Volunteer for OSAC Task Groups

•Review and comment on SDO documents

• Support the process

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