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Workplace Drug Test Positives Shows Sight Increase in 2000 Provided to you as a service of the National Drug-free
Workplace Alliance WORKPLACE DRUG USE REVERSED DECADE-LONG DECLINE IN 2000, DRUG TESTING INDEX TETERBORO, N.J., July 31, 2001 -
Workplace drug use increased during 2000, reversing a steady, decade-long
decline, according to the semi-annual Drug Testing Index released today by Quest
Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the leading provider of employer drug
testing services in the United States. From 1988, when the survey began, through the end of 1999,
the annual positivity rate – the proportion of positive test results to all
drug tests performed by Quest Diagnostics – declined from 13.6% to 4.6%.
However, during 2000, the overall positivity rate increased slightly to 4.7%. All of the increase in positivity occurred in the general
U.S. workforce, which excludes federally-mandated, safety-sensitive workers,
such as pilots, bus and truck drivers and workers in nuclear power plants, for
whom routine drug testing is mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation
and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The
positivity rate among federally mandated, safety-sensitive workers continued to
decline in 2000 to 3.1% from 3.2% in 1999. The positivity rate for the general workforce increased
from 4.8% to 4.9%. "In the 13 years that we have been measuring drug use in
the workplace, this is the first time we have seen an increase in the rate of
positivity," said R.H. Barry Sample, Ph.D., Director of Science and
Technology for Quest Diagnostics' Corporate Health and Wellness division.
"This appears to be due to an increase in drug use among current general
workforce employees, mainly among employees who are subject to random on-the-job
drug testing." The Drug Testing Index summarizes the results of workplace
drug tests performed between January and December 2000 by Quest Diagnostics.
The Drug Testing Index looks at positivity rates among three major
testing populations: federally mandated, safety-sensitive workers; the general
workforce; and the combined U.S. workforce. The positivity rate for the general workforce increased
even more sharply in three key segments of on-the-job drug testing: "for
cause," which indicates reasonable suspicion; "post-accident";
and "random drug testing." For these three categories, the rate of
positivity in the general workforce went up 9.1%. In contrast, the rate of
positivity for these three categories declined 4.3% for federally mandated,
safety sensitive drug tests. The incidence of cheating on drug tests declined during
2000, decreasing 52% from 1999, according to the Drug Testing Index. Cheating on
drug tests can involve the use of masking agents, or chemicals that are added to
drug testing specimens in an attempt to defeat the process of detecting drug
use. These agents include oxidizing adulterants, which include nitrites, as well
as bleach and pyridinium chlorochromate. Cheating
can also involve the use of "substituted" or "invalid"
samples. Color graphics of the Drug Testing Index, including
regional maps which show positivity rates by type of drug, are available at www.questdiagnostics.com
to provide more localized workplace drug test data. The Drug Testing Index is
released every six months as a service for government, media and industry, and
is considered a benchmark for national trends. Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of
diagnostic testing, information and services with annual revenues of $3.4
billion in 2000. The company's
diagnostic tests yields information that enables health care professionals and
consumers to make better decisions to improve health. Quest Diagnostics offers
patients and physicians the broadest access to diagnostic testing services
through its national network of Additional company information can be found on the Internet
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