§ 26.405 - Drug and alcohol testing.

§ 26.405 Drug and alcohol testing.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 87 FR 71463, Nov. 22, 2022.

(a) To provide means to deter and detect substance abuse, licensees and other entities who implement an FFD program under this subpart shall perform drug and alcohol testing that complies with the requirements of this section.

(b) If the licensee or other entity elects to impose random testing for drugs and alcohol on the individuals identified in § 26.4(f), random testing must -

(1) Be administered in a manner that provides reasonable assurance that individuals are unable to predict the time periods during which specimens will be collected;

(2) Require individuals who are selected for random testing to report to the collection site as soon as reasonably practicable after notification, within the time period specified in the FFD program policy;

(3) Ensure that all individuals in the population that is subject to random testing on a given day have an equal probability of being selected and tested; and

(4) Provide that an individual completing a test is immediately eligible for another random test.

(c) Individuals identified in § 26.4(f) shall be subject to drug and alcohol testing under the following conditions:

(1) Pre-assignment. Before assignment to construct or direct the construction of safety- or security-related SSCs;

(2) For-cause. In response to an individual's observed behavior or physical condition indicating possible substance abuse or after receiving credible information that an individual is engaging in substance abuse, as defined in § 26.5;

(3) Post-accident. As soon as practical after an event involving a human error that was committed by an individual specified in § 26.4(f), where the human error may have caused or contributed to the accident. The licensee or other entity shall test the individual(s) who committed the error(s), and need not test individuals who were affected by the event but whose actions likely did not cause or contribute to the event. The individual(s) who committed the human error(s) shall be tested if the event resulted in -

(i) A significant illness or personal injury to the individual to be tested or another individual, which within 4 hours after the event is recordable under the Department of Labor standards contained in 29 CFR 1904.7, and subsequent amendments thereto, and results in death, days away from work, restricted work, transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or other significant illness or injury as diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness; or

(ii) Significant damage, during construction, to any safety-or security-related SSC; and

(4) Followup. As part of a followup plan to verify an individual's continued abstinence from substance abuse.

(d) At a minimum, licensees and other entities shall test specimens for marijuana metabolite, cocaine metabolite, opiates opioids (codeine, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone), amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and methylenedioxyamphetamine), phencyclidine, adulterants, and alcohol at the cutoff levels specified in this part, or comparable cutoff levels if specimens other than urine are collected for drug testing. Urine specimens collected for drug testing must be subject to validity testing that includes testing for adulterants.

(e) The specimen collection and drug and alcohol testing procedures of FFD programs under this subpart must protect the donor's privacy and the integrity of the specimen, and implement stringent quality controls to ensure that test results are valid and attributable to the correct individual. At the licensee's or other entity's discretion, specimen collections and alcohol testing may be conducted at a local hospital or other facility under the specimen collection and alcohol testing requirements of 49 CFR Part 40 and subsequent amendments thereto.

(f) Testing of urine specimens for drugs and validity, except validity screening and initial drug and validity tests that may be performed by licensee testing facilities, must be performed in a laboratory that is certified by HHS for that purpose, consistent with its standards and procedures for certification. Any initial drug test performed by a licensee or other entity subject to this subpart must use an immunoassay that meets the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration for commercial distribution. Urine specimens that yield positive, adulterated, substituted, or invalid initial validity or drug test results must be subject to confirmatory testing by the HHS-certified laboratory, except for invalid specimens that cannot be tested. Other specimens that yield positive initial drug test results must be subject to confirmatory testing by a laboratory that meets stringent quality control requirements that are comparable to those required for certification by the HHS.

(g) Licensees and other entities shall provide for an MRO review of positive, adulterated, substituted, and invalid confirmatory drug and validity test results to determine whether the donor has violated the FFD policy, before reporting the results to the individual designated by the licensee or other entity to perform the suitability and fitness evaluations required under § 26.419.

[73 FR 17176, Mar. 31, 2008, as amended at 75 FR 73941, Nov. 30, 2010; 87 FR 71463, Nov. 22, 2022]