California Code of Regulations › Title 17 - Public Health › Division 1 - State Department of Health Services › Chapter 2 - Laboratories › Subchapter 1 - Service Laboratories › Group 8 - Forensic Alcohol Analysis and Breath Alcohol Analysis › Article 1 - General › Section 1215 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) "Alcohol" means the
						unique chemical compound, ethyl alcohol. When referencing compounds to be avoided,
						such as skin disinfectants, alcohol means any organic compound in which an hydroxyl
						functional group is bound to a saturated carbon atom.
(b) "Alveolar" refers to the smallest air sacs in
						the lungs and to that portion of the expired breath which is in equilibrium with
						respect to alcohol with the immediately adjacent pulmonary blood.
(c) "Breath Alcohol Testing" means the analysis of
						a person's expired breath, using a breath testing instrument to obtain a breath
						alcohol result.
(d) "Competency Test"
						means the evaluation of a person's ability to perform work in forensic alcohol
						analysis prior to the performance of independent testing.
(e) "Concentration" means the weight amount of
						alcohol contained in a unit volume of liquid or a unit volume of gas under specified
						conditions of temperature and pressure. In the case of a tissue specimen,
						"concentration" means the weight amount of alcohol contained in a unit weight of
						specimen.
(f) "Department" means the
						California State Department of Public Health and its duly authorized
						representatives.
(g) "Forensic Alcohol
						Analysis" means the use of specialized equipment, instruments, and methods to
						measure the concentration of alcohol in samples of blood, urine, or tissue of
						persons involved in traffic accidents or traffic violations.
(h) "Forensic Alcohol Analyst" means a person
						employed by a forensic alcohol laboratory who is responsible for all aspects of the
						performance of forensic alcohol analysis.
(i) "Forensic Alcohol Laboratory" means a place at
						which specialized equipment, instruments, and methods are used by forensic alcohol
						analysts to measure the concentration of alcohol in samples of blood, breath, urine,
						or tissue of persons involved in traffic accidents or in traffic violations; this
						may be an activity of a laboratory engaged in activities in addition to forensic
						alcohol analysis.
(j) "Laboratory" means
						an entity capable of assuming the responsibility of fulfilling the requirements of
						the regulations.
(k) "Method" means the
						procedures used by a forensic alcohol analyst to determine the alcohol concentration
						in a sample or specimen.
(l) "NIST" is
						an abbreviation for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
(m) "NIST Certified Reference Material (CRM)"
						means a reference material characterized by a metrologically valid procedure for one
						or more specified properties, accompanied by a certificate that provides the value
						of the specified property, its associated uncertainty, and a statement of
						metrological traceability.
(n) "NIST
						Standard Reference Material (SRM)" means a CRM issued by NIST that also meets
						additional NIST-specific certification criteria and is issued with a certificate or
						certificate of analysis that reports the results of its characterizations and
						provides information regarding the appropriate use(s) of the material.
(o) "NIST Traceable" means a commercially produced
						reference material with a well-defined traceability linkage to existing NIST
						standards for chemical measurements.
(p)
						"Precautionary Checklist" means a guide to assist in the operation of a breath
						instrument.
(q) "Proficiency Test" means
						a test to evaluate the continuing competence of analysts and the performance of a
						laboratory.
(r) "Sample" or "Specimen"
						means a representative portion of blood, urine, tissue, an artificially constituted
						material, or a portion of expired breath which is essentially alveolar in
						composition obtained for the purpose of measuring its alcohol
						concentration.
(s) "Set" means a group
						of samples analyzed in a continuous time span.
1. New Group
						  8 (Sections 1215,
						  1215.1,
						  1216,
						  1216.1,
						  1217,
						  1217.1 through
						  1217.8,
						  1218,
						  1218.1 and
						  1218.2) filed 8-10-70; effective
						  thirtieth day thereafter (Register 70, No. 33).
2. Repealer of former
						  section 1215 and renumbering of former section
						  1215.1 to new section
						  1215, including amendment of section
						  and new NOTE, filed 1-26-2017; operative 4-1-2017 (Register 2017, No.
						  4).
Note: Authority cited: Section
							 100703,
							 Health and Safety Code. Reference: Section
							 100700,
							 Health and Safety Code.