Top Terms from 49 CFR Part 40

Alcohol Screening Device (ASD)

A breath or saliva device, other than an EB, that is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and placed on a conforming products list (CPL) for such devices.

Split specimen collection

A collection in which the urine collected is divided into two separate specimen bottles, the primary specimen (Bottle A) and the split specimen (Bottle B).

Verified Test

A drug test result or validity testing result from an HHS-certified laboratory that has undergone review and final determination by the MRO.

Aliquot

A fractional part of a specimen used for testing. It is taken as a sample representing the whole specimen.

Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)

A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

Screening Test Technician (STT)

A person who instructs and assists employees in the alcohol testing process and operates an ASD. A BAT can doe a STT, confirmation drug test, but STT can only do a STT.

Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT)

A person who instructs and assists employees in the alcohol testing process and operates an evidential breath testing device.

Medical Reviewer Officer (MRO)

A person who is a licensed physician and who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program and evaluating medical explanation for certain drug test results. They must be a MD or DO, have qualifications training, and requalification training every 5 years.

Confirmatory drug test

A second analytical procedure performed on a different aliquot of the original specimen to identify and quantify the presence of a specific drug or drug metabolite.

Consortium/Third-party administrator (C/TPA)

A service agent that provides or coordinates the provision of a variety of drug and alcohol testing services to employers.

Blind specimen

A specimen submitted to a laboratory for quality control testing purposes, with a fictitious identifier, so that the laboratory cannot distinguish it from an employee specimen.

Alcohol Confirmation Test

A subsequent testing using an EBT, following a screening test with a result of 0.02 or greater, that provides quantitative data about the alcohol concentration.

Oxidizing adulterant

A substance that acts alone or in combination with other substances to oxidize drugs or drug metabolites to prevent the detection of the drug or drug metabolites, or affects the reagents in either the initial or confirmatory drug test. (i.e. putting oxi-cleaner in fingernail and then putting it in the urine specimen)

Designated employer representative (DER)

An employee authorized by the employer to take immediate action(s) to remove employees from safety-sensitive duties, or cause employees to be removed from these covered duties, and to make required decisions in the testing and evaluation processes.

Service agent

Any person or entity, other than an employee of the employer, who provides services specified under this part to employers and/or employees in connection with DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, collectors, BATs and STTs, laboratories, MROs, substance abuse professionals, and C/TPAs.

Split specimen

In drug testing, a part of the urine specimen that is sent to a first laboratory and retained unopened, and which is transported to a second laboratory in the event that the employee requests that it be tested following a verified positive test of the primary specimen or a verified adulterated or substituted test result.

Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC)

The office in the Office of the Secretary, DOT, that is responsible for coordinating drug & alcohol testing program matters within the Department and providing information concerning the implementation of this part. They can interpret the rules.

Stand-down

The practice of temporarily removing an employee from the performance of safety-sensitive functions based only on a report from a laboratory to the MRO of a confirmed positive test for a drug or drug metabolite, an adulterated test, or a substituted test, before the MRO has completed verification of the test result.

Chain of custody

The procedure used to document the handling of the urine specimen from the time the employee gives the specimen to the collector until the specimen is destroyed.

Negative Result

The result reported by an HHS-Certified laboratory to an MRO when a specimen contains no drug or the concentration of the drug is less than the cutoff concentration for the drug or drug class and the specimen is a valid specimen. "GOOD".

Initial drug Test (aka Screening drug test)

The test used to differentiate a negative specimen from one that requires further testing for drugs or drug metabolites.

Confirmed drug test

a confirmation test result received by an MRO from a laboratory.

Non-negative Result

A urine specimen that is reported as adulterated, substituted, positive (for drug(s) or drug metabolite(s), and/or invalid. It can also be a positive, diluted, or refusal.

Substituted specimen

A urine specimen with creatinine and specific gravity values that are so diminished or so divergent that they are not consistent with normal human urine.

Alcohol Screening Test

An analytic procedure to determine whether an employee may have prohibited concentration of alcohol in a breath or saliva specimen. (i.e. drivers can not have alcohol 4 hrs , pilots 8 hrs, and railroad can go in at anytime).

DOT, The Department of Transportation

These terms encompass all DOT agencies, including but not limited to, the USCG, FAA, FRA, FMCSA, FTA, NHTSA, PHMSA, and OST (office of Secretary).