Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 4, 1995                   TAG: 9501040087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SUBSTANCE TESTERS ARE TRAINED TO PROTECT EMPLOYEES' RIGHTS

But drug- and alcohol-testing specialists say the chances of a false positive result have never been lower, and that the U.S. Department of Transportation has kept employees' rights in mind when drawing up new guidelines for expanded alcohol and drug testing of "safety-sensitive" workers.

"Everything is tilted in the employee's favor," said Tim Fitzgerald, president of Safety and Compliance Service. "These people realize that they are dealing with people's livelihoods."

Fitzgerald's Roanoke-based company will handle employee testing for the counties of Roanoke, Franklin, Floyd, Botetourt and Patrick under the federal regulations that took effect Sunday. Roanoke has contracted with Lewis-Gale Clinic to conduct tests on city employees.

Both Fitzgerald and Brenda Minnick, the manager of occupational medicine at Lewis-Gale Clinic, said the use of split-specimen drug testing ensures greater integrity.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse has mandated split-specimen drug testing since August.

When a NIDA-certified lab takes a urine specimen to test for drug use, the technician will split the sample into two. Both samples are sealed, but while the first is sent to the laboratory for testing, the second is stored.

"If there is a question about the result on the first specimen, after talking to a medical review officer, the driver has the right to pull the second specimen from storage and have it sent to an independent laboratory of his choice for testing," Minnick said.

Minnick said she has never heard of a case in which tests on two specimens taken at the same time have come back falsely positive.

Neither had Fitzgerald. "You would have a better chance of buying one ticket in your lifetime and hitting the hundred-billion-dollar lottery jackpot," he said.

So that takes care of lab error - but what about other factors, such as legal medications and foods that could produce positive results?

Minnick said Lewis-Gale Clinic employs a medical review officer at both of its testing sites. That officer reviews all test results with the employee, and if a test reads positive, tries to determine if there are legal medications or foods that could have skewed the results.

Alcohol readings will be gathered through breath tests, which rate a person's blood-alcohol content. The federal standards require confirmation tests on any positive results. Readings of 0.02 to less than 0.04 will result in a 24-hour suspension of duties. A reading of 0.04 or higher will result in suspension of duties and referral for evaluation. The legal limit for driving in Virginia is a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent.

Employees who are accepted into rehabilitation after testing positive once for drugs or alcohol will be tested for a period of 2 to 5 years after undergoing treatment and returning to work, depending on the local government's or company's policies. Additional positive tests after rehabilitation will result in immediate dismissal.

"Flexibility is built into our program," said David Rorer, professional standards and crime-prevention officer with the Salem Police Department, "but it does have some teeth."