.02% alcohol blood level? Info, please

[lappy8@webtv.net]

Hello,

i just read a friend's autopsy report that states she had a .02% level
of ethanol when she died.

Can anyone please help explain this? Is this a high number? Drunk?

i checked Google and talked to my doc but cannot find out any info.

Thanks for any help.

carol

[Ken]

lappy8@webtv.net wrote:
> Hello,
>
> i just read a friend's autopsy report that states she had a .02% level
> of ethanol when she died.
>
> Can anyone please help explain this? Is this a high number? Drunk?
>
> i checked Google and talked to my doc but cannot find out any info.
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> carol
>

Carol,

..02% is low enough that it isn't used to determine impairment. The
tests don't measure perfectly, there is always some error, so generally
one must measure .04% to "count" as measuring alcohol consumption.

..08% or .01% are the levels at which one, if he's driving, is considered
to be drunk driving in most if not all U.S. states.

The .02% reading shows an insignificant (if any) amount of alcohol consumed.

Ken Ragge
http://www.morerevealed.com

[John Droge]

"Ken" <ken@isp.com> wrote in message
news:z4WdnU3iIqnMpWndRVn-jw@speakeasy.net...
> lappy8@webtv.net wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > i just read a friend's autopsy report that states she had a .02% level
> > of ethanol when she died.
> >
> > Can anyone please help explain this? Is this a high number? Drunk?
> >
> > i checked Google and talked to my doc but cannot find out any info.
> >
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> > carol
> >
>
> Carol,
>
> .02% is low enough that it isn't used to determine impairment. The
> tests don't measure perfectly, there is always some error, so generally
> one must measure .04% to "count" as measuring alcohol consumption.
>
> .08% or .01% are the levels at which one, if he's driving, is considered
> to be drunk driving in most if not all U.S. states.
>
> The .02% reading shows an insignificant (if any) amount of alcohol
consumed.
>
> Ken Ragge
> http://www.morerevealed.com

Carol
Since it was an autopsy report I would assume (maybe wrongly) that 0.02% was
pretty accurate. Colorado just changed the our laws so as not to lose Fed
highway money and 0.05% to under 0.08% is impaired and 0.08% and above is
"under the influence". You hear a lot of discussion about how much a person
needs to drink to get to what blood alcohol level and there are of course a
number of factors involved, the one I hear the most is each drink (12oz
beer, mixed drink, shot) raises blood alcohol 0.01%.
John

[G-A]

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:57:08 -0400, lappy8@webtv.net wrote:

>
>Hello,
>
>i just read a friend's autopsy report that states she had a .02% level
>of ethanol when she died.
>
>Can anyone please help explain this? Is this a high number? Drunk?
>
>i checked Google and talked to my doc but cannot find out any info.

This is rather low content. One drink within one hour or
few within several hours before. See tables here:

http://www.moderation.org/bac/bac-women.shtml

G-A

[lappy8@webtv.net]

Thank you all for your help and responses.

carol

[Cheggers]

> Can anyone please help explain this? Is this a high number? Drunk?

Sorry to hear about your loss. I wanted to add to the (accurate)
rsponses you already received here. In many cases, the production of
ethanol (alcohol) inside the body of a deceased person is a naturally
occurring part of decomposition.

I couldn't give you chapter and verse on the chemistry (though
doubtless others here can), but I can certainly say that flight deck
personnel who have dies in air crashes sometimes show low ethanol
levels in their remains, though those are put down to being a result
of decomposition between the time of death and physical recovery of
the remains, not of drinking alcoholic beverages.

Wishing you well,

Cheggers