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Wisconsin Drug Testing Consortium performs required five-panel test

The U.S. Department of Transportation updated its five-panel drug test in 2018 to include what are referred to as expanded opiates or extended opiates. Wisconsin Drug Testing Consortium (WDTC) provides drug testing services that meet updated 2018 DOT requirements.

The DOT drug testing cutoff levels include initial test cutoff concentration levels as well as confirmatory test cutoff concentration levels, which are generally lower. The concentration levels are considered thresholds, where if the detected level of a substance is below the DOT drug testing cutoff levels for a specific substance, it is considered not detected at all.

The 2018 DOT panel update includes:

• Marijuana metabolites
• Cocaine metabolites
• Phencyclidine (PCP)
• Opioids (codeine, heroin, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hyrocodonea and hydromorphone)
• Amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA and MDA)

As a complement to DOT drug testing services, WDTC also offers non-DOT reasonable suspicion training for your supervisory staff.

DOT drug testing cutoff levels are the lab’s concern

The specific DOT drug testing cutoff levels are available as public information on the DOT website, but realistically are of value for certified testing laboratories rather than employers or owner-operators.

Expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), confirmatory test cutoff levels can be as little as one-third the threshold level of the initial test to equal in both tests. If the result of the initial drug test yields a result at or above the cutoff concentration, the lab must conduct a confirmation test.

Confirmation test results that show a result below the cutoff concentration must be reported as negative, even if a lower concentration exists than that stated in the DOT drug testing cutoff levels.

About Wisconsin Drug Testing Consortium

Wisconsin Drug Testing Consortium is an accredited, Certified Third Party Administrator (C-TPA), and specializes in Consortium Management; a variety of drug testing methods, including urine, hair and fingernails; post-accident testing; pre-employment drug tests; criminal background checks; supervisor training programs to keep employees compliant with DOT regulations; pre-employment DOT physicals; and paternity DNA testing. Headquartered in Green Bay, WDTC also has offices in Appleton, Fond du Lac and Madison, Wisconsin. Call 888-784-8842 or visit www.widrugtesting.com for more information.

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