The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued temporary rules to prevent employees whose drug test results show low levels of creatinine from being unfairly accused of cheating on the test.
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Creatinine, a muscle protein by-product, is found in all valid urine samples. A person who tries to beat a drug test by drinking lots of water beforehand will have unusually low levels of creatinine in his or her sample. Because a low creatinine level is often a tip-off that the person is trying to beat the test, current DOT regulations regard samples with creatinine levels at or under five milligrams per deciliter of urine as “substituted.” DOT considers substituted samples to be a refusal to take the drug test, with the same consequences as failing it.
Until a determination is made as to the level of creatinine that should be used as a baseline, the DOT will require individuals who produce otherwise negative drug tests with creatinine levels between two and five milligrams per deciliter of urine undergo a re-collection under direct observation, without advance notice.
Although the DOT warns the temporary rule might increase the risk of employees attempting to use substituted samples to avoid detection of drug use, the change is expected to affect only about 2,000 of the millions of DOT specimens collected each year.