The Mistral Group is an informal group of independent separate companies, Mistral Inc., Mistral Security Inc., Mistral Detection Ltd., Karil International Marketing Ltd., and Karil Protective Systems Ltd., with units covering industrial and defense; security, law enforcement and public safety; and international marketing. The "Group" cooperates in the marketing of Defense and Law Enforcement products globally. In June 2007, it received widespread media attention for a pilot program to introduce
aerosol
An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' co ...
drug test
A drug test (also often toxicology screen or tox screen) is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or saliva, oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent ...
ing into public schools, beginning in
Rockingham County,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.
Aerosol drug testing
The tests marketed by the company are based on chemical reactions with specialized reagents and have been used for years for field testing by law enforcement. Some of the tests have been modified to increase reagent stability (i.e. shelf life), reduce
false positive
A false positive is an error in binary classification in which a test result incorrectly indicates the presence of a condition (such as a disease when the disease is not present), while a false negative is the opposite error, where the test resu ...
s, or to eliminate
hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...
; thus they are marketed as non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. Tests are made by spraying directly on surfaces or by swabbing surfaces and spraying the swabs, and take thirty seconds or less to read. The tests are marketed as sensitive to less than ten micrograms of the target drug.
The tests available are:
A combination of tests for cannabis, opiates, and amphetamines is sold as Detect4Drugs, which turns one of four colors depending on which substance is present. Some media reports have ascribed somewhat greater sensitivity to the tests, claiming detection of morphine, codeine, and MDMA, and a detection threshold of one microgram.
Aerosol testing in schools
The school testing program was funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) under a directive from Congress to find a safe test to detect trace amounts of illegal drugs in and beyond school environments.
enate Report 106-404, p. 61, September 8, 2000 The program is described as emphasizing non-intrusive environmental applications of the technology, such as daily testing of doorknobs to determine what drugs are most prevalent.
However, a local news report emphasized that the testing can be done on students' personal items, such as like book bags, pencils, door handles, keys or cell phones, and that when evidence of criminal activity is found the school is legally required to inform police. Nonetheless, initial positive results are not taken seriously, because false positives can result from chemical cross-reactivity, second-hand contact such as a handshake with someone who has handled a drug, or lingering environmental contamination. The threshold for action may involve third or fourth positive test results or positive tests following prior negative tests, as well as the quantity of drug detected.
References
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External links
Mistral Group web site a
http://www.mistralgroup.com/
Companies based in Bethesda, Maryland
Holding companies of the United States