Getting the "Random" Explosives Test when no other PAX around

[medhead]

When l first entered in the mining industry about 6 years ago, this was just coming in. When l left last year, it was pretty much all sites doing alcohol testing before shift (0.000 reading, 3 decimals, not 2 like the law enforced limit) and the frequency of urine tests also increased.
Interestingly, for cocaine (on the newer urine tests), they weren't testing for cocaine but another chemical that is used during the process that stays in your system longer. I personally find this an invasion of privacy and think that "24 hour swab tests" are better for this reason. What you do in your R'n'R is up to you (not saying l do drugs in my time off, but l think that if your sober (D&A free), thats fine.)

Are you talking about 100% screening or random testing? Random testing was established when I entered the mining industry in 1999.

There are also very good reasons for detecting cocaine use after more than 24 hours. Drug testing makes people change from something like cannabis, which hangs around for weeks, to some that clears quickly, like cocaine or other cough. Not good turning your pot smoking employees into crackheads.

How you feel about a colour? Come on be serious! How you feel about a colour does not describe how the colour looks. Doe it?

No but a colour, the most amazing colour one has seen, causes an emotional response. Describing that feeling describes the colour for someone who hasn't seen it.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Are you talking about 100% screening or random testing? Random testing was established when I entered the mining industry in 1999.

100% screening for alcohol and random testing for drugs before your shift.

I have yet to see a 100% drug screening process before shift on any mine site. Too expensive l would think to have on a daily basis for all employees to undertake. Hence the 'random' screening increasing in frequency over the years. I have heard that the urine tests are about $70-$80 a pop and swabs a bit cheaper. If you run a site with 500 people, doing drug tests on all employees daily would run the bills up a fair bit...Not to mention slowing down production/construction and tying the on-site medic up for a few hours each day.

I have been involved in 'site-wide' (everyone on-site, but only ever on one Rio Tinto site) drug tests, however these are few and far between.

There are also very good reasons for detecting cocaine use after more than 24 hours. Drug testing makes people change from something like cannabis, which hangs around for weeks, to some that clears quickly, like cocaine or other cough. Not good turning your pot smoking employees into crackheads.

l was at one mine site during construction phase, they made the whole site (2000 employees), do a 1 day drug induction course over several weeks. This is the drug detection times we were give on a slide Wiki Drug Test at that course.

Yes, pot stays in your system the longest, while the 'harder' drugs are out in a matter of days. I have not seen LSD on the side of any urine tests either, and l've done more urine tests than you would believe. If you have a prescribed drug in your system, you are stood down until you show a script or evidence.

 

[Reggie]

I have been involved in 'site-wide' (everyone on-site, but only ever on one Rio Tinto site) drug tests, however these are few and far between.

Still happening, and getting more often, especially after special events/occasions.

I got done during one of the site-wide tests for using codral night and day with the quick tester, went through the 45 min long followup test process which proved me to be clean.

 

[JohnK]

No but a colour, the most amazing colour one has seen, causes an emotional response. Describing that feeling describes the colour for someone who hasn't seen it.

And are everyone's feelings and emotional responses the same?

 

[medhead]

And are everyone's feelings and emotional responses the same?

No. But it doesn't stop me from describing it in terms of my feelings.