ARMY WILL EXPAND CIVILIAN DRUG TESTS AT HUNTSVILLE SITES

HUNTSVILLE More civilian Army workers in Huntsville including those with
access to top-secret information are facing random drug tests.

The Expanded Civilian Drug Testing Program begins Jan. 15 for civilian Army
workers at Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Army's Space & Missile Defense
Command in nearby Cummings Research Park, said Pam Rogers, an Army
spokeswoman at Redstone Arsenal.

The Army already has random drug tests for soldiers and some civilian
workers, Ms. Rogers said Wednesday. Civilian Army workers in Huntsville
already being tested include 120 who are pilots, civilian guards and
police, along with those who work in the Army's substance-abuse program,
she said.

Under the expanded program, 1,122 of the 10,000 civilian Army workers in
Huntsville will face random drug tests because of the jobs they hold.

Among those who will face random drug tests are employees with access to
top secret information as a part of their work, Ms. Rogers said. It's the
first time a civilian in that type of position has faced a random drug test
program, she said.

Workers with security clearances undergo extensive background checks before
they are granted clearances, so the random drug tests are just an extra
layer of security, Ms. Rogers said.

Some of the other workers being added to the list for random drug tests are
firefighters, ammunition or explosives handlers, workers required to
possess a commercial drivers license or who drive a vehicle transporting
hazardous materials, and other aviation workers including air traffic
controllers and aircraft maintenance and safety workers.

Ms. Rogers said about half the workers normally will be tested during a
12-month period. A computer will randomly select which positions to
randomly test, Ms. Rogers said.

Workers will get a call the day they are to go in for a urine test, Ms.
Rogers said. They will be screened for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines,
opiates, barbiturates and some prescription drugs, she said.

An unexplained positive test for drugs will result in a worker being put
into another job. That worker also will have to undergo a drug
rehabilitation program that includes six follow-up drug tests.

Refusing to take a drug test or having a second unexplained positive test
will result in the person being fired, Ms. Rogers said.

The new testing program is being implemented at Army installations across
the nation, Ms. Rogers said.