Trucking, DOT Discuss Drug Test Changes

March 30, 2000 9:20 AM, EST

WASHINGTON – The intent is a good one, but some of the details are devilish, industry representatives told the Department of Transportation at a public meeting on a long list of proposed changes to the drug and alcohol testing regulations.

One change sparking the most interest is a proposal to direct laboratories to test all worker urine samples for adulterants that could mask illegal drug use or attempts to substitute another substance for the sample ("DOT Targets Test Cheating," 12-13, p. 1).

The employee drug testing rules, introduced in 1990, apply to all the modes, but truckers represent 7.3 million of the 8.3 million workers covered.

An effort to update the regulations began in 1996, with DOT issuing a proposal in December. The March 21 public meeting was one of three hearings the agency has held on the subject since then.

As for searching for masking agents, Edward Wytkind, executive director of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, said if workers are found to have used adulterants or substitutes, they should be allowed the same protections as workers who test positive for drugs.