The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is launching an investigation of all 65 federally certified drug testing labs after a case involving an airline pilot raised doubts about a Lenexa, KS lab’s validation process.
LabOne’s questionable validation of urine samples arose during an administrative hearing before the National Transportation Safety Board for Delta Airlines pilot Doukas Siotkas. Siotkas was fighting to keep his pilot’s license after a July 1999 drug test showed a creatinine level of zero. Creatinine levels are measured to verify that a urine sample has not been tampered with and readings of less than 5 milligrams per deciliter is deemed to be substitution of a sample. Creatinine levels are typically low for vegetarians, petite women and people who drink large quantities of water. No further testing was done on the sample and Siotkas was fired.
During the safety board’s hearing, the Airline Pilots Association challenged the legitimacy of drug test validation and stated that LabOne only provided whole numbers, rather than to a decimal point, which is against federal guidelines. The Federal Aviation Administration allowed Siotkas to keep his license and he was rehired by Delta. The Department of Transportation (DOT) urged the Health and Human Services department to check the validating protocols for all 65 labs. A DOT spokesman said the agency “is concerned other labs may have conducted similar tests without completely implementing all test procedures.”
For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director at (202) 483-5500.
