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.
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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.