Intoximeters, the manufacturer of the alcohol screening device used by British Columbia police forces, announced the release of a new mouthpiece designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The TestSafe Mouthpiece promises to filter 99.9% of viral and bacterial particles.
The news follows concerns I raised back in March when we were still adjusting to the pandemic and all the ways in which the virus spread. The design of the Alco-Sensor FST, the approved screening device used across BC, had some issues that could, potentially, spread Covid-19.
Concerns
In summary, my concerns were not with the disposable mouthpiece, which police officers are required to swap for each and every breath test. Instead, I was worried that coronavirus pathogens from infected drivers could collect on two sensors connected to the mouthpiece as well as two tubes that run from the sensors into the device itself. I wanted to know if a driver took a breath before blowing into the mouthpiece, could they breathe in viral pathogens on the device. As we now know, the virus remains active on surfaces like plastic for three days.
My other big concern was with the exhaust design. When you blow into ASD, your breath has to come out somewhere. On the Alco-Sensor FST, there is a hole at the back of the mouthpiece that functions as the exhaust. The device is designed to be held by the officer towards the driver, so when someone blows into it, the exhaust could be spraying pathogens all over the officer. Not only would this infect the officer if they administered a breath demand to someone with Covid-19, but the officer would also transmit it to everyone else they come into contact with. If pathogens don’t reach the officer, they could still land on the device and spread to anyone who touches it.
I argued it would be much safer for the time being to revert to the older model, the Alco-Sensor IV. The exhaust on the Alco-Sensor IV could be held safely away from the officer. This ASD was taken replaced by the FST in 2015.
What the police said
Police acknowledged the threat of transmitting Covid-19 during roadside impaired driving investigations, however, the Alco-Sensor FST remained in use. They said officers cleaned approved screening devices between each use. However, they did not go into details about if or how pathogens inside the device were being cleaned.
What’s new about the TestSafe Mouthpiece
With the police brushing aside concerns about the safety of the devices, the manufacturer, to their credit, stepped up. Last week, Intoximeters announced the TestSafe Mouthpiece. It said: “The emergence of the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, has sparked a re-assessment of best practices for the mitigation of disease transmission in the field of Breath Alcohol testing.”
The Intoximeters TestSafe Mouthpiece is designed to replace or attach to the normal mouthpiece on both the handheld Alco-Sensor FST and desk models currently in use in police detachments. It is bi-directional, similar to N-95 respirators. Intoximeters says the mouthpiece traps viral 99.9% of and bacterial particles and prevents them from entering the ASD.
I’m glad the manufacturer has acknowledged the potential risk of transmitting coronavirus and it has done something about it. From the police perspective, I hope they quickly rollout the TestSafe Mouthpiece or continue to use alternative means of alcohol impairment investigations, such as SFSTs. One question I would like to know the answer to is whether police will cancel any refusal charges or convictions against people who declined to provide a sample of breath on the grounds of Covid-19.