NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS REGIONAL CRIME LABORATORY


To Provide Accurate, Objective and Timely Forensic Services



Toxicology



The toxicology section analyzes for the presence of ethanol and controlled substances in impaired driving cases. Testing is provided for urine in suspected drug facilitated sexual assault cases and liquids collected in the illegal transport of open alcohol cases.


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analysis:



Analytical instrumentation utilized in the toxicology section is as follows:


Ethanol Quantitation: Agilent Headspace GC/FID fitted with DB-ALC1 and DB-ALC2 columns and Nitrogen carrier gas.


Drug Screening: Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)


Drug Confirmation: Agilent GC/MS



suitable specimens:



  • Alcohol Testing- Blood is the preferred specimen. Urine can be tested however urine ethanol concentrations do not directly reflect blood ethanol concentrations. Blood ethanol and blood alcohol concentrations are one in the same. All necessary conversions will be done by the analyst and are reflected on the report. ​


  • Drug Testing- A urine specimen must be submitted if testing is required for drugs other than Cannabis.


  • A blood specimen must be submitted for the quantification of THC (Cannabis). The submission of both a blood AND urine specimen is preferred.


  • If blood and urine are received, NIRCL will first analyze the blood for the presence of ethanol. If the concentration of ethanol is above 0.080 g/dL, testing is considered complete and a report is issued. If the concentration of ethanol in blood is below 0.080 g/dL, the urine specimen shall be screened for a panel of 12 classes of drugs. If the specimen screens positive for only Cannabinoids, the blood specimen shall be sent to NMS Labs for the quantitation of THC in the blood. If the urine screens positive for any other classes of drugs, NIRCL shall confirm the presence of these drugs in urine.


  • Sexual Assaults- Urine should be collected as soon as possible after the incident and submitted separately from the sexual assault kit that is sent to the DNA section for analysis.


  • Open Alcohol- Small plastic containers are provided to member law enforcement agencies for the submission of liquid samples. It is not necessary to submit the entire bottle of alcohol for testing.


northeastern illinois regional crime laboratory



vernon hills, il 60061

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