Forensic Toxicology Subcommittee

The Forensic Toxicology Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the analysis of biological samples for alcohol, drugs, or poisons, and the interpretation of these results.  

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

Officers

Robert Johnson, Subcommittee Chair, Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office

Rebecca Wagner, Subcommittee Vice Chair, Virginia Department of Forensic Science

Madeleine Swortwood, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, Sam Houston State University

Members

Standards

On the OSAC Registry

• ANSI/ASB Standard 017, Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2018 (added June 18, 2019).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 036, Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2019 (added July 7, 2020).
• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 037, Guidelines for Opinions and Testimony in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2019 (added November 5, 2019).​​​​
• ANSI/ASB Standard 053, Standard for Report Content in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2020 (added March 2, 2021).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 054, Standard for a Quality Control Program in Forensic Toxicology Laboratories, First Edition, 2021 (added September 6, 2022).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 119, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Medicolegal Death Investigations, First Edition, 2021 (added September 6, 2022).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 120, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Impaired Driving Investigations, First Edition, 2021 (added September 6, 2022).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 121, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Urine in Drug-Facilitated Crime Investigations, First Edition, 2021​​​ (added May 3, 2022).
• ANSI/ASB Standard 152, Standard for Minimum Content Requirements of Forensic Toxicology Procedures, First Edition, 2021 (added September 6, 2022).
• OSAC 2020-S-0003, Guidelines for Performing Alcohol Calculations in Forensic Toxicology (added May 3, 2022 and sent to ASB for further development and publication).

Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) & Eligible for the OSAC Registry

• ANSI/ASB Standard 098, Standard for Mass Spectral Analysis in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2023.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 113, Standard for Identification Criteria in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2023.

At an SDO for Further Development & Publication

• OSAC 2020-S-0003, Guidelines for Performing Alcohol Calculations in Forensic Toxicology (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
• OSAC 2021-N-0026, Standard for Education and Training of Forensic Toxicology Personnel.

  • NOTE: this osac proposed standard will not be placed on the registry per subcommittee request. 

• OSAC 2021-S-0004, Standard for Estimation of Measurement Uncertainty of Quantitative Measurements in Forensic Toxicology.

  • NOTE: this osac proposed standard will not be placed on the registry per subcommittee request. 

• Standard for Breath Alcohol Instrument Specifications.
• Standard for Breath Alcohol Measuring Instrument Calibration.
• Standard for Proficiency Testing of Forensic Toxicology Laboratories.
• Guidelines for Specimen Collection and Preservation for Forensic Toxicology.

Under Development

• Standard Method for Blood Ethanol Identification and Quantitation in Forensic Toxicology Laboratories.
• Standard for Quality Assurance Management Systems in Forensic Toxicology Laboratories.

Other Work Products

Research & Development Needs

• See the research and development needs identified by the Forensic Toxicology Subcommittee.

Standards Development Maps

• Toxicology Roadmap

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

• Primer on Forensic Toxicology.
• Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) Standard for Laboratory Personnel.
• Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) Standard for Breath Alcohol Personnel.