To catch a cheat
Researchers know when urine has been tainted
Drano, All laundry detergent and Arm & Hammer baking soda have become drug-addicted job applicants’ last resorts to pass urine screenings. But researchers performing lab tests are one step ahead.
Legislation allowing workplace drug testing began in 1986. During the late 1980s, 13 percent of the tests came back positive. Now, less than 4 percent show a positive result, in part because 13 states now ban the sale and distribution of drug test altering chemicals, said Amitava Dasgupta during a press conference July 28 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.
“It is a game of cat and mouse,” said Dasgupta, a pathologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. “As more companies try to achieve drug-free work environments, more people attempt to beat drug tests with additives, flushing agents and drug-free urine purchased on an increasing number of websites.” Toxicologists respond by creating new screenings to catch the cheaters, he said.