TAKING THE TEST

New Contracts Raise Concerns Over Employee Drug Testing, But Testers
Remain Confident

He collects samples for drug and alcohol testing one at a time to
help prevent mistakes.

The urine samples never leave his sight or that of the person being
tested. Both sign and initial all documents, which are marked by
unique 7-digit identification numbers and corresponding bar codes.
The labels marking the vials also come from the same form with the
same identification numbers and bar codes.

The bathroom in which the employee gives a sample is completely
stripped. A blue dye placed in the toilet water prevents people from
adding water to the sample. The vials detect compromising substances
and temperature, all to ensure the substance in the vial is urine.
Easy-to-read lines indicate positive and negative results outside of the vial.

The collection process is straightforward, routine and mostly mistake proof.

Bruce Makarewicz, Advanced Testing Services owner, spends all day in
this process.

He tests potential employees and employees of private companies,
state and federal agencies. When needed, he travels on site to test
employees. He recently collected on-site samples for a Kohala Coast
resort. He's been in the business for 15 years.

Makarewicz said he has heard several misconceptions about drug
testing since the state and unions ratified contracts approving
random drug testing.

United Public Workers in ratifying its contracts with the state
agreed to implement a random drug and alcohol testing program for
close to 12,000 employees in the bargaining unit, including
custodians, public hospital workers, food service employees and other
workers for the state and counties. Hawaii State Teachers Association
also ratified contracts that called for random drug testing.

For the state and private employees, results are obtained
immediately. Samples for federal employees are sent directly to a
lab. Five commonly tested substances are cocaine, cannabinoids
(marijuana), amphetamines (meth), opiates and phencycldine (or PCP).

No tests results are kept in Makarewicz's office. They are accessed
through a secure server. If negative results are found, the process
ends there. If positive, samples are shipped to a certified medical
lab for further testing. A medical review officer oversees the
process, and if needed, contacts the employee to provide more
information because prescriptions may explain the presence of some substances.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a medical review
officer is a licensed physician who is responsible for receiving and
reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing
program, and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test
results. MROs are expected to perform their duties objectively and
with accuracy.

One of the common concerns about drug testing is the accuracy of the
tests, and the possibility of false positives or negatives, said Makarewicz.

He said false positives may have happened years ago when drug testing
first started but technology has come a long way in the past 15 to 20
years. Today, every substance has a unique fingerprint, he said.
False negatives are more likely than false positives, he added.

The testing materials used by Makarewicz, SPLIT-SPECIMEN Cups
manufactured for Noble Medical Inc., produce the same testing results
as laboratories 98 to 99 percent of the time for the five federally
tested drugs, according to clinical studies of the product.

While a person may test positive for a substance, that sample must be
sent to a lab in order to pinpoint the level of substance and whether
that level exceeds thresholds established by the federal or state
government, said Makarewicz.

"In the case of litigation, if it finally gets to that, a second vial
or specimen for all positives is kept at the lab for a year," said
Makarewicz. There is whole trail of paperwork to document the
collection and testing process.

Some have voiced concerns about the integrity of the random drug
testing selection process. Makarewicz said the meaning of "random" is
scientific. Typically, a third-party is assigned to handle this
process. In the state's case, this person could possibly be a union
representative. That person is given a list of employees by
identification, and is responsible for ensuring those selected will
be present for testing.

The process for collecting samples isn't foolproof. Collectors are
certified by two organizations, including Drug and Alcohol Testing
Industry Association, said Makarewicz. But if mistakes are made in
the collection process, the sample is thrown out and the process
starts all over again. Mistakes are not typically made once samples
reach the laboratory because everything is tracked by bar codes, he said.

Also, there are methods to fool the tests, said Makarewicz. "But a
program is only as good as the person who administers it," he said.

One problem is the difficulty of detecting drugs that are flushed out
of the body in a few days rather than a few weeks. The rate at which
this occurs varies from person to person, depending upon several
factors including metabolism.