A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control shows that a breath alcohol administrator can influence the result of the test if he or she has used a hand sanitizer.
In the study, the person giving the breath test first tested each of 10 volunteers to get a baseline reading. Then the test administrator used a 70 percent ethanol hand sanitizer. Then the he performed a second test on the volunteers. All the volunteers were sober.
But if the tester used hand sanitizer immediately before administering the test, each volunteer was rated at nearly twice the legal alcohol limit.
On the other hand, if the tester used gloves, no changes were evident.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.