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 6 - Requirements for Breath Alcohol Testing › Section 1221.2 - Standards of Procedure

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Procedures
						for breath alcohol testing shall meet the following standards:
(1) For each person tested, breath alcohol testing
						shall include analysis of 2 separate breath samples which result in determinations
						of breath alcohol concentrations which do not differ from each other by more than
						0.02 grams per 210 liters of breath.
(2)
						The instruments shall be checked for accuracy with reference samples which are known
						water solutions or dry-gasses of alcohol.
(A) Such
						determination of accuracy shall consist, at a minimum, of periodic analysis of a
						reference sample of known alcohol concentration within accuracy and precision limits
						of plus or minus 0.010 grams % of the true value; these limits shall be applied to
						alcohol water concentrations and/or dry-gas reference samples of alcohol from 0.08
						to 0.30 grams %. The reference sample shall be provided by a forensic alcohol
						laboratory.
(i) Such analysis shall be performed
						automatically on applicable instruments, or manually by an operator as defined in
						Section 1221.2(a)(5), and the
						results shall be used by a forensic alcohol analyst to determine if the instrument
						continues to meet the accuracy set forth in Section
						1221.2(a)(2)(A).
(B) For the purposes of such determinations of
						accuracy, "periodic" means either a period of time not exceeding 10 days or
						following the testing of every 150 subjects, whichever comes
						sooner.
(3) Breath alcohol
						testing shall be performed using procedures for which the operators have received
						training, such training to include at minimum the following schedule of subjects:
(A) Theory of operation:
(i) Value and purpose of forensic alcohol
						testing;
(ii) General processes of
						absorption, distribution, and elimination of alcohol;
(iii) Theory of breath alcohol analysis;
(iv) Discussion of the required 15 minute wait
						period; and
(v) Methods of breath
						alcohol testing.
(B) Detailed
						procedure of operation:
(i) Procedures of analysis
						for the specific breath alcohol testing instrument used by the
						agency.
(C) Precautionary
						checklist:
(i) The Precautionary Checklist shall be
						incorporated into the testing process.
(D) Practical experience:
(i) Each instrument screen prompt shall be
						discussed and reviewed by the instructor.
(ii) The operation of the breath instrument shall
						be demonstrated by the instructor.
(iii)
						The instructor shall observe the trainee(s) perform a successful test on the
						instrument.
(E) Written
						Examination;
(i) At the completion of the training
						session, each breath instrument operator trainee will be required to successfully
						complete a written examination and to achieve a passing score of a minimum of
						80%.
(F) Upon successful
						completion of the training session and successful completion of both the written and
						practical examinations, the trainee will be issued a certificate by the laboratory.
						The certificate will indicate the operator's name, ID/Badge #, agency, and include
						the instructor's name.
(4)
						Training curriculum in the procedures of breath alcohol testing shall be developed
						by a forensic alcohol analyst. Department notification of the proposed curriculum
						will follow section
						1218.
(A) The instructors will be, at minimum, certified
						breath instrument operators with 2 years of practical experience or a forensic
						alcohol analyst who has successfully completed the breath instrument training and
						has at least 6 months of practical experience with the instrument. Training in the
						Theory of Operation, pursuant to 1221.2(a)(3), shall be conducted by a forensic
						alcohol analyst.
(B) The breath
						instrument operator trainees will receive, at a minimum, 4 hours of instructional
						training by a certified breath instrument operator.
(C) If a breath instrument operator trainee has
						already undergone training to operate an approved breath testing instrument, the
						trainee may receive instruction as above excluding the portion covering
						1221.2(a)(3)(A).
(5) An
						operator shall be a forensic alcohol analyst or a person who has completed
						successfully the training described under sections
						1221.2(a)(3) and
						1221.2(a)(4), and who
						may be called upon to operate a breath testing instrument in the performance of his
						or her duties.
(6) Records shall be kept
						for each instrument to show the frequency of determination of accuracy and the
						identity of any person performing a manual determination of accuracy.
(A) Records shall be kept for each instrument at a
						forensic alcohol laboratory showing compliance with this
						Section.