Question 9.22: Describe the two main ways in which a sample can be tampered...
Describe the two main ways in which a sample can be tampered with in order to have it give spurious results for fraudulent purposes.
(1) An extraneous analyte may be deliberately added to the sample so that the object from which it is extracted is spuriously deemed “contaminated”. One example is pollution of a bay with mercury. If mercury is deliberately added to the water from a ship, the coastal environment may be declared polluted and unsafe for bathing and/or fishing. This may boost tourism and fishing in an unpolluted competing area.
(2) A harmless substance may be added to the sample in order to conceal the presence of the analyte in either of two ways:
– By having it interact with the analyte (e.g., to form a compound that will be retained during the preliminary operations and prevented from reaching the measuring instrument).
– By having it interact with the object in order to eliminate the analyte (e.g., using a diuretic to remove any traces of anabolic steroids or drugs of abuse taken by an athlete).