BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION IN EXPIRED
AND NON-EXPIRED APPROVED CONTAINERS
STORED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE AND UNDER
REFRIGERATION FOR 21 DAYS
RICHELLE BOOKER, GERTRUD PATRICIA LEHMANN, JAMES DOUGLAS MITCHELL
In Canada, blood samples taken in relation to impaired driving investigations are to be collected
into “approved containers”, as defined in subsection 254(1) of the Criminal Code. “Approved
containers” contain both an anti-coagulant and a preservative additive, in such a concentration as
to maintain the integrity of the blood sample for the purposes of forensic alcohol analysis.
Occasionally, “approved containers” are utilized beyond their labeled expiry date. The purpose
of this study was to determine the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in blood samples collected
into expired and non-expired “approved containers”. Blood samples were collected from two
subjects who had consumed alcohol. Samples were collected directly into expired and nonexpired “approved containers”, subsequently stored for a period of 21 days under refrigeration or
at room temperature, and then analyzed using a headspace gas chromatographic procedure. The
results of the project demonstrate that the use of an approved container beyond its expiry date
has no statistically significant impact on the BAC, even in samples that had been collected into
containers that had expired more than 15 years ago.