Federal drug tests (aka DOT tests) are regulated by the federal government. As with many things run by the government, there are many, many rules that the laboratories, employers, and even the drug test collectors must follow. Some of these rules, as you can imagine, seem pointless. An example of one of the rules that seems pointless but does have a purpose is something the donor must do at the beginning of every DOT drug test. Before the collector gives the donor a cup to pee in, the collector must instruct the donor to wash their hands… That’s right, they have to wash their hands BEFORE the test. This rule is designed to prevent the donor from having a foreign substance on their hands or embedded in their fingernails – a substance they may then use to attempt to adulterate their urine specimen while in the restroom.

Even this rule could not thwart our recent cheater. We had an individual come in for a DOT drug test and we had him wash his hands before he took the cup into the bathroom. After he gave his sample, he handed the cup to our collector. As she was inspecting the sample for temperature, color, etc., the donor quickly grabbed the cup, turned his back, and put his fingers in the cup of urine. The collector
quickly grabbed the cup back from him. She noticed that there was an unknown substance floating in his urine. He had something on his fingers that he put in the cup as an attempt to adulterate the specimen.

We concluded that he must have put the substance on his hand after he handed the specimen to the collector. We don’t know why he waited until he was in front of the collector to attempt to adulterate the specimen. Of course, we informed the gentleman that he would have to provide us with another sample and per DOT regulation, this time it would be observed. There is a good reason that the DOT makes donors wash their hands before a test, we just had to experience it to appreciate it. There is also a regulation that requires donors to empty their pockets before a test, but there are plenty of other places to hide substances to adulterate and substitute one’s urine.

The bottom line is that a vigilant and well-trained collector is the best defense for someone trying to cheat the system. How good are the collectors where YOUR drug testing takes place?