November 2007
Questions & Answers
When is a Random No Longer Random and How Far Do I Have to Go to Test?
Question: I am an owner-operator and received a random notice Friday in the mail for both drug and alcohol. I went to the collection site the next morning which was a Saturday, the collection site did the collection for the drug, but they were unable to do the alcohol since their technician had quit. I called the AADT/C-DATA office on Monday and I was told of another site that would be able to do the BAT (Breath Alcohol Test), but it would be 30 miles round trip. I did go take the test, but I do not feel I should have had to since I already did my part at the first site and it was not my fault they were not able to the test.
Answer: The requirements for the random alcohol testing is; while the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions, just before the driver is to perform safety-sensitive functions, or just after the driver has ceased performing such functions; §382.305(m).
So assuming you were not performing a safety-sensitive function on that Saturday morning, technically you would not have had to complete the test. Another factor is when is a random no longer random? Since you (or had it been a driver/ employer situation) already knew of the random and there wasn’t anything available within the criteria of testing requirements (before, during or just after) again you would not have had to test at a later time.
Understanding these facts, I would like to share some of our experiences and conversations with top-level employees within the enforcement community. It has been expressed to us that although the testing time may not fall into the (before, during or just after) criteria, as far as an owner-operator is concerned, the view of from the enforcement community is that a reasonable business person would test anyway unless they truly had a reason that they are avoiding the testing.
Another factor to consider is the federal requirement for the minimum testing requirements for the random DOT pool is 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol annually. So if that requirement is not met by the consortium not only is the consortium in violation of the requirements, but everyone that is in that testing pool is also in violation of compliance. So if everyone chose to void the alcohol test because of an inconvenience, which was not your case, the consortium would have to continue to send out more random notices until that percentage is met. So as you can see voiding the alcohol test is not something that we encourage.
Another consideration is that although it may be an inconvenience when a test is requested fortunately it is not requested that often. Although the breath alcohol testing is becoming increasingly problematic it is still a requirement for compliance.
In some areas a collection site that offers breath alcohol may be as much as 30 to 40 miles from a client’s place of business. Many collection sites are choosing to no longer offer the alcohol testing. Since there is limited demand compared to the drug testing, and considering in the cost of the training of collectors, the re-certifying requirements for both the collector and the device, the cost of the testing device, the cost of the supplies and the mandatory maintenance of the device, one would find it hard to argue the fact.
Lastly, it has always been our suggestion that either an owner-operator or employer call ahead to the collection before proceeding just to be sure there are not any unforeseen problems, such as the site moved, out of business, temporary closed, had a technician call in sick, ran out of chain of custody forms, etc
REMINDER
Please contact our office at:
(800) 820-9314 if you have not received your 2008 renewal forms or if you have any questions on completing the renewal. We are in the process of entering the renewals and will start mailing the 2008 Renewal Packets on November 19th. We anticipate that some clients may be confused by the business name change to American Alliance Drug Testing (AADT).
Again we must emphasize the importance of thoroughly checking that all the information we have listed is correct, make any needed corrections and return all completed forms, including the service agreement signed by an authorized company representative or in the case of an owner-operator it must be the owner-operator’s signature. Incomplete renewals will be returned; we have already had to return over 200 renewals that were incomplete within the first 3 weeks.
On-Line Access toYour Account
Unfortunately our website access has taken longer than originally anticipated, but to date we are in our testing pilot. You will be able to make changes to your company information, add or remove a driver/employee, view your company random history or renew online. So these features will be available by the middle of this month. We appreciate everyones patience.
Teaspoon of Urine Can
Drug Test an Entire City
Researchers have figured out how to give an entire community a drug test using just a teaspoon of wastewater from a city’s sewer plant.
The test wouldn’t be used to finger any single person as drug user. But it would help federal law enforcement and other agencies track the spread of dangerous drugs, like methamphetamines, across the country.
Oregon State University scientists tested 10 unnamed American cities for remnants of drugs, both legal and illegal, from wastewater streams. They were able to show that they could get a good snapshot of what people are taking.
It’s a community urinalysis, said Calab Banta-Green, a University of Washington drug abuse researcher who was part of the Oregon State team. The scientists presented their results at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Two federal agencies have taken samples from U.S waterways to see if drug testing a whole city is doable, but they haven’t gotten as far as the Oregon researchers.
Test Results
One of the early results of the new study showed big differences in methamphetamine levels were virtually nonexistent in some smaller Midwestern locales, said Jennifer Field, the lead researcher and a professor of environmental toxicology at Oregon State. The ingredient Americans consume and excrete the most was caffeine, Field said.
Cities in the experiment ranged from 17,000 to 600,000 in population, but Field declined to identify them. She plans to start a survey for drugs in the wastewater of at least 40 Oregon communities. The science behind the testing is simple. Nearly every drug-legal and illicit-that people take leaves the body. That waste goes into toilets and then into wastewater treatment plants.
“Wastewater facilities are wonderful places to understand what humans consume and excrete,” Field said.
In the study presented, one teaspoon of untreated sewage water from each of the cities was tested for 15 different drugs. Field said researchers can’t calculate how many people in a town are using drugs.
Questionnaires
Underestimate Drug Use
Field said that one fairly affluent community scored low for illicit drugs except for cocaine. Cocaine and ecstasy tended to peak on weekends and drop on weekends, she said, while methamphetamine and prescription drugs were steady throughout the week.
Her study suggests that a key tool currently used by drugs abuse researchers – self-reported drug questionnaires-underestimates drug use.
“We have so few indicators of current use,” said Jane Maxwell of the Addiction Research institute at the University of Texas, who wasn’t part of the study. “This could be a very interesting new indicator”.
David Murray, Chief scientist for U.S Office of national Drug Control Policy, said the idea interests his agency. Murray said the U.S Environmental Protection Agency is testing federal wastewater samples just to see if that’s a good method for monitoring drug use. But he didn’t know how many tests were conducted or where.
The EPA will “flush out the details on testing, Benjamin Grumbles joked. The EPA assistant administrator said the agency is already looking at the problem of potentional harm to rivers and lakes from legal pharmaceuticals.
The idea of testing on a citywide basis for drugs makes sense, as long as it doesn’t violate people’s privacy, said Tom Angell of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a Washington based group that wants looser drug laws.
Note that throughout this article, when I refer to the applicable federal regulations, I’m referring to CFR 49, Parts 40 & 382; these regulations can be found in Section 5 of the AADT Company Compliance Manual or in the AADT website at www.aadrugtesing.com under links at DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance at www.dot.gov/ost/dapc or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.