THE NEW
HPG-2 HIGH VOLTAGE PLASMA GENERATOR
The new HPG-2 is a compact and self-contained source of high volt age, high frequency power suitable for establishing and controlling gas plasmas. This easy to use genera tor permits either direct or electrodeless connections in the widest variety of plasma applications. These include plasma induced polymerization, afterglow detector for gas chromatography, atomic emission spectroscopy, plasma torch, dielectric sputtering and plasma etching. For complete specifications and application information, please contact us at, ENI Power Systems, Inc., 100 Highpower Rd., Rochester, New York 14623. Call (716) 427-8270, or Telex 6711542 ENIUWor, ENI Power Systems, Ltd., Mundells Court, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL7 1EN, England. Call (0707) 371 558, or Telex 24849 ENI UK G.
eni
POWER SYSTEMS, INC.
cohol from the stomach, due to rup ture or postmortem diffusion, is an other major concern after injuries. A 10-mL sample of blood taken from an individual with a true BAC of only 0.02% (a forensically insignificant val ue), if it were contaminated with 1 mL of stomach fluid (alcohol concentra tion 2%), would give an apparent BAC of 0.22%! Even when autopsies are performed, the common practice has been to col lect only one blood sample for BAC purposes, which, even when collected from the intact heart can be inad equate in terms of a "reliable" BAC determination. Heart blood should be collected from the left side of the in tact heart, because a substantial eleva tion of blood sugars frequently occurs in cases of severe trauma, shock, and sudden death, with elevations higher in the right heart than in the left. This sugar can be converted to ethanol by bacteria. This process can begin in the body before sample collection and can continue in the sample after collection and before testing. The better practice, followed by the leading forensic pathologists, is to col lect a number of samples. Blood from the intact left heart, if possible, and from the femoral (leg) and cubital (arm) veins when available, should be taken so that the distribution of blood alcohol throughout the body before the accident can be confirmed. Urine, spinal fluid, vitreous humor (from the eye), and stomach contents should also be collected and tested. Even though precise relationships (i.e., be tween percent alcohol vitreous to per cent alcohol blood) are not well de fined at present, multiple sample col lection and testing are important. This can effectively eliminate much later speculation as to whether a sig nificant preaccident BAC existed or whether contamination due to injuries or other causes created false values (8, 9). In view of the importance given such evidence and the enormous legal and economic consequences, multiple samples should be required at autopsy whenever postmortem alcohol deter minations are at issue. Reliable alcohol education, begin ning at least at the high school level, is an essential part of any real solution to our drinking-driver problems. Any one involved in alcohol education pro grams, however, should be aware of the wide range of individual responses to alcohol consumption and the decep tive nature of alcohol calculation charts and tables, which can be dan gerous when relied upon by low-r men and by women generally. References (1) Fitzgerald, E. F.; Hume, D. N. Mass. Law Rev. 1981,66(1) 23.
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886 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 57, NO. 8, JULY 1985
(2) Fitzgerald, E. F.; Hume, D. N. The Champion 1983, 7(10), 6. (3) Flanagan, N. G. et al. Med. Sci. Law 1979,19, 180. (4) Widmark, E.M.P. "Die Theoretischen Grundlagen Und Die Praktische Verwendbarkeit Der Gerichtlich-Medizinischen Alkohol-Bestimmung"; Urban & Schwarzenberg: Berlin, 1932. (5) Goldberg, L. Acta Physio. Scand. 1943, 5, Supp. 16, 90. (6) Mason, M. F.; Dubowski, K. M. J. Fo rensic Sci. 1975,20, 9. (7) Spector, Ν. Η. Science 1971,172, 57. (8) Backer, R. C; Pisano, R. V.; Sopher, I. M. J. Forensic Sci. 1980,25, 327. (9) Coe, J. I. J. Forensic Sci. 1974,19, 13.
David N. Hume is emeritus professor of chemistry at MIT. He received Β A and MS degrees in chemistry at UCLA and his PhD from the Univer sity of Minnesota in 1943. During World War II he was section chief in analytical chemistry in a division of the Manhattan Project and afterward taught at the University of Kansas. In 1947 he joined the faculty at MIT, where he taught until his retirement in 1981. For the past six years his re search interests have concerned the measurement and interpretation of chemical tests for intoxication and their forensic application.
Edward F. Fitzgerald is a trial lawyer in private practice. A member of the Massachusetts Bar, he received his JD from Boston University in 1965, and he has been admitted to practice before the Federal District Courts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and before the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to his own practice, which emphasizes civil and criminal litiga tion, he acts as a consultant to attor neys on serious accident and death cases involving alcohol.
