Heroin Use Higher Than Expected Among Workers in U.S.
(Corrects type of workers in first paragraph of story published Jan. 25)
Heroin use is more widespread among workers in the U.S. than previously thought, including among pilots and truck drivers, according a report from Quest Diagnostics Inc.
New testing methods using saliva found heroin use is five times more common in the general workforce than experts thought, according to Quest, the nation’s largest provider of diagnostic testing. Heroin was found in 0.04 percent of 320,000 employees screened with spit tests that are harder to tamper with and easier for companies to collect than the older urine tests, the Madison, New Jersey-based company said.
Heroin use is also more prevalent among those with the nation’s most sensitive jobs, according to tests run since the U.S. Department of Transportation introduced stricter rules in October. Quest compared 350,000 urine samples taken in the last three months of 2010 at its federally approved laboratories to the same period a year earlier, and found 20 percent more positive cases, the company said.
“While the overall incidence is still relatively low, we believe it’s an important finding, especially for those employers with safety sensitive workers like pilots, drivers, and train operators,” said Barry Sample, director of science and technology for Quest Diagnostic Employer Solutions. “For people who work in industrial or manufacturing plants, it’s important to find use of a drug that can so significantly impact someone’s performance.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page