Ethoxylated Alcohol causing False Reading on B.A.C.

i know that airlines use a glycol to aid in snow removal prior to takeoff...can't imagine that they( Airlines ) would let their employees off the hook( faa mandated drug screening ) by being able to say " that test came back positive because i was deicing today "

Glycols are not the same as Glycol ethers! I have been told that glycol ethers along with other solvents can affect breathaliser readings. As it is a possibility I would like to know thw correct answer. Spray painters and workers in the paint industries carry quite a bit of solvent in their systems for some time after finishing work and could register on a breathaliser.

Do you have any personal experience in this area?

yes.. ...... having performed bohica deterrent duty for 40 years in aviation..

Give it up dude, you have been nailed. Now man up and take your punishment.

thats funny..

since faa drug testing is done on a random basis,

and some airlines and the unions are either without contract, expired ~ still in negotiations , under the present economy the threat of strike is counter- productive to any union stance, one airlines exec , when shuffled onto a lower ranking job was asked about the current contract negotiations, by the union workers at the exec's new station,replied, we've always treated your group as idiots and everytime we justified by the things you do..".

" my words : . i in no way defend anyones " carelessness, neglect or incompetence." "..( i know we've all seen the poster ).:

alcohol and drug screening can also be issued under the judgement of 2 supervisors the " employee " is showing signs of impairment " , or there's been an incident.* you say " what is an incident "..an incident is : my words : that was close !! oh by the way...the implied other shoe was , is ,..i know nothing was damaged , no one was injured, but who said we liked you!!?...and of course if there was an accident

during times of labour unrest , some , i cant say all, didn't have close ties with all airlines, attempt to " target " the individuals on the seniority list thru these claims, when that same individual employee would have contractual seniority,..protection against layoff, station closing .. you might start to see....

most of the flying public has no idea , if " going postal " wasn't already accounted for..

as to how that pertains to having glycol spayed in your mouth when your in a basket lift truck in the snow, where the truck may skid on the ice, and your " it ".for the day...yes i have experience with that.. sweet taste, gets sticky in your moustache , if you've got one,..many times it's confused, when it drips from the wing at the destination city ,for skydrol...i admit I'm not a chemist...nor did i look up the complete compound before i posted... and after annual deicing certification , i'm happy to say the best i could do was recognize the word glycol...

and all this without the benefit of a material data sheet...as far as " me " being in the basket , and having the supervisor come up and say , time to test "..see original post...

i state the observations i have witness in 38 years of aviation..1969 ~ 2007..working on my fathers airplane wasnt a choice, it was my chore on saturday..my first paying job in aviation :1969..

It is inconceivable as to why anyone would want to spray a cleaning product into the mouth to cause a positive on a breathalyser machine, when ethyl alcohol-based alternatives are much safer <hic!>...

If you sprayed an alcohol or similar solvent bearing liquid into your mouth it could fool a breathalyzer w/o you being "drunk." If you were a painter and you already had a solvent load in your body you might be kinda tipsy already and a beer after work would put you over the limit. Which, unfortunately, would be accurate.

YES- THIS EXACT THING HAPPENED TO MY BROTHER-TOTALLY SOBER-I WAS WITH HIM.

Depending on the age, type, sensing element heating circuit and calibration of the device, you will get false positives !

Yes is possible. If you feel you've been awarded a penalty via a false positive you do have recourse but be cognizant that the procedures result though absolutely accurate may forever and always remove doubt and may be cause for adjudication resultant of incarceration if only temporary.

I think the question should be: would you be intoxicated [impaired] if you had ingested Ethoxylated Alcohol?

Ingestion depending upon amount will cause irritation of membranes and tissues to death. Somewhere in between intoxication would occur.

Following the line of thought, a positive breathalyser test would still indicate intoxication.

A couple of years ago I was making biodiesel using methanol & we would use a inexpensive breathalyser to check the level [methanol] in the fuel. The device would certainly detect in a person if you had not been using your PPE.