AFC Santa Clarita Breath Alcohol Test

Keeping Yourself And Others Safe

When you drink alcohol, it goes into your stomach and small intestine. It gets absorbed into your blood, which carries it through your body and into your brain and lungs. You exhale it when you breathe. A breath alcohol test measures how much alcohol is in the air you breathe out. The device uses that measurement to estimate how much alcohol is in your blood. That number is known as your BAC, or blood alcohol content.

BAC may go up as soon as 15 minutes after drinking and is usually highest about an hour after drinking. In North Carolina, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC above 0.08%. Many companies that operate dangerous machinery or use hazardous materials have their own BAC limits when on the job, and some even have zero tolerance for any BAC.

We administer Breath Alcohol Tests at AFC Santa Clarita. A Breath Alcohol Test is used to measure how much alcohol is currently in the blood. Many employers use this method as a pre-employment protocol or post-accident precautionary. These tests are reliable and very accurate in showing the current levels of intoxication; however, they do not measure past alcohol use.

What Is A Breath Alcohol Test?

Screening devices used at AFC Santa Clarita are about the size of a remote control. The applicant will blow into a disposable mouthpiece. The whole process from start to results takes around a minute. The results show the alcohol level in the person’s blood at the exact time the test was taken. The test does not cause any pain or discomfort and is usually uneventful.

The device measures how much alcohol content is in the blood. If you have a blood alcohol content of 0.2 and above, it means that you have a positive result. The consumption of 2 or more alcoholic beverages within the hour prior to your breath alcohol test will result in a positive blood alcohol content.

Why Is A Breath Alcohol Test Used?

As your blood alcohol content rises, you can get clumsy and take longer to react, and you may not make good choices. These things make driving or operating heavy machinery dangerous. Breath alcohol tests are done to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of the person. Breath alcohol tests are usually done on drivers suspected of driving under the influence and are commonly referred to as breathalyzers. However, they may also be done to job applicants or employees, minors, or those enrolled in specific programs.

When Do I Need A Breath Alcohol Test?

When applying for a job, applicants may be required to be screened for drug and alcohol use depending on state law and company policy. Companies that require breath alcohol testing make it known upon hire that this is protocol. Many employers conduct breath alcohol tests to make it clear to the applicants that they do not tolerate any kind of alcohol abuse.

Most employers also use alcohol testing under specific circumstances, including:

• Reasonable suspicion of alcohol use on the job
• Post-accident if alcohol use is suspected as the cause of property or personal damage
• Random testing
• United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Required Alcohol Testing

No matter your reason, AFC Santa Clarita will perform the test and ensure the results are provided to the correct organization or person.

Who Administers A Breath Alcohol Test?

When you come to AFC Santa Clarita, one of our providers will administer your Breath Alcohol Test. Our team will be able to make sure your test is administered correctly and with ease.

What is the Breath Alcohol Test Limit?

Blood alcohol content (BAC) is the level of alcohol in your bloodstream. The legal limit when driving in North Carolina is 0.08. According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, men must limit themselves to not more than two standard drinks in the first hour and one drink per hour after that, and women should limit themselves to 1 standard drink per hour.

The BAC limit for jobs that involves managing a motor vehicle like driving public or heavy vehicles, operating machinery, commercial vessels or a mobile plant is zero (0.00%).

The BAC limit for your specific application will be set by the organization or person requiring the test.

Your BAC tends to affect your body as follows:

• BAC 0.02% to 0.03%, you may feel relaxed
• BAC 0.05% to 0.10%, you may have reduced muscle coordination, longer reaction times, and impaired judgment and responses

Is The Breath Alcohol Test Accurate?

The Breath Alcohol Test may not always be accurate. Some things that can cause an error in the reading are:

• If you had a drink 15 minutes before the test, trace amounts of alcohol in your mouth could lead to an inaccurate high-level result.
• Smoking.
• Products that contain alcohol, like mouthwash and breath fresheners.
• Machine is out of calibration or needs new batteries.
• Software glitches.

No breath test is as accurate as a blood or urine test, so request a blood test if you think your breath alcohol test is not accurate.

Things That Affect Breath Alcohol Content

How fast your BAC rises and how long it says that way depend on several things:

• Alcohol Consumed - It’s not just the number of drinks you’ve had but also how strong they were and how fast you drank them. The more you drink each hour, the faster your BAC rises.
• Your weight - The heavier you are, the more water you have in your body. The more water, the more diluted the alcohol gets.
• Your gender - Men have higher levels of a stomach enzyme that helps break down alcohol, so they process it faster. Women typically have less water and more fat and hormonal changes that can affect the BAC.
• Food Consumption - A full stomach of high-protein foods slows the processing of alcohol.

The alcohol content of exhaled air accurately reflects the alcohol content of the blood.