FTA Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates
Issue 27, page 4

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Where to Find? .....

DHHS Labs
The current list of DHHS certified labs is published the first week of each month and is printed in the Federal Register under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) heading. Only those labs certified can be used for FTA drug testing. The list should be checked monthly as new labs are being added and others are being removed.
Website location: http://
www.workplace.samhsa.gov/
ResourceCenter/lablist.htm

To verify the certification status of a laboratory, DHHS has established a telephone HELPLINE (800) 843-4971.
 

The information presented on this page should be used to update Chapter 7 of the revised Implementation Guidelines.
 

Medical Review Officers (MROs) are required to take a formal training course and pass an examination administered by a nationally recognized MRO professional certification board prior to the performance of any MRO duties under the DOT drug and alcohol testing program. Following the initial training and examination, MROs are required to complete twelve professional development hours of training relevant to MRO functions every three years.

MROs who completed their qualifications training and examination requirements prior to August 1, 2001 must complete their first increment of twelve (12) continuing education credit hours (CEUs) prior to August 1, 2004. Since this deadline is fast approaching, it is highly recommended that you have a dialog with your MRO or third party administrator to ensure that this requirement is being met and that you receive appropriate documentation. MROs that do not meet this requirement will no longer be able to perform services under your FTA drug and alcohol testing program.

List of Certified Labs Continues to Shrink

The list of laboratories certified by the Department of Health and Human Services is published during the first week of each month in the Federal Register. The notice is also available on the Internet at http://workplace.samhsa.gov. Any laboratories whose certification has been suspended or revoked and laboratories that voluntarily withdraw from the program are highlighted.

The list continues to shrink reflecting corporate mergers, consolidations, and voluntary withdrawals. New validity and adulterant testing requirements may result in a further reduction of the number of labs that are willing and certified to perform urine drug testing for federal agencies. Currently, forty-nine laboratories are on the list representing less than half of the number that was certified in the mid-nineties.
Even though the number of labs has diminished, the overall capacity of the remaining labs still exceeds the demand and thus, no employer should experience any adverse consequences due to the reduction. However, employers must remain diligent in their oversight to ensure that the lab that is providing their drug testing services maintains its DHHS certification and is able to provide test results within the regulatory time limitations.

2001 Annual Report Available

Each year all direct recipients of FTA funding are required to collect data on their drug and alcohol testing program for the calendar year and prepare summary reports of the data. If requested, recipients are required to report their data to FTA. For the first time in 2001, FTA used a stratified random sampling system to select the funding recipients that were required to submit their data. The results of the sampling method were summarized and published in the Drug and Alcohol Testing Results: 2001 Annual Report. The report includes detailed information on random testing violation rates (sum of positive tests and test refusals), positive post-accident tests, positive test rates for pre-employment, random, post-accident and reasonable suspicion testing categories, and information on return to duty tests.
The report can be obtained online at http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/publications. Print copies of the report can be ordered by contacting Ms. Alison Thompson at thompsona@volpe.dot.gov or faxing your request to (617) 494-2684.