RHYS EVANS Routine drug screening tests enable a database of results to be developed to determine the effectiveness of drug-combating initiatives or education programmes
Routine drug testing on mining sites is an effective deterrent to habitual and casual drug use, which improves the safety of workers and their productivity, says drug-testing company ALCO-Safe director Rhys Evans.
A simple six-drug screening panel tests for the common illicit drugs of amphetamines, cannabis, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines, as well as benzodiazepine compounds, which are generally used in prescription anxiety medication and commonly abused.
New drugs, such as Nyaope, a mixture of low-grade heroin often cut with anticoagulant compounds (typically rat poison) or prescription antiretroviral medication, and Tik, a methamphetamine-based drug cocktail, will also be detected when using this test.
ALCO-Safe notes that mines in Africa tend to prefer the ten-drug panel tests, which tests for four other readily available and commonly abused prescription medications.
“Mines in South Africa typically use six-panel tests, but, while some mines implement routine drug screening, most mines still tend to conduct ad hoc tests if there is reasonable suspicion about a person’s behaviour or after an accident.
“The testing kits are cheap and effective ways of ensuring that workers know there is a high probability of being tested, which discourages them from abusing substances before work or regularly. Screening improves safety of the workers, and reduces risks to their co-workers,” he explains.
The disposable test kits use urine samples to test for specific substances and compounds on site and can be administered by clinic staff or trained health officers.
Drug-screening tests and self-disclosure of prescribed medication enable mines to effectively manage workers’ health, balanced against the safety of their workers and that of the workplace, as required by law.
Less invasive testing methods, such as saliva testing, are being used more often, which do not require bathrooms or gender-specific health officers to perform the tests. However, saliva provides a very short window of detection after use, as it generally detects substances used only within the past 24 hours.
“Saliva testing, while less cumbersome, will mostly detect only habitual users, and might not detect casual users.”
Hair follicle testing is common in the UK, but is considered invasive, since it entails cutting about 30 strands of hair close to the scalp. Such testing is effective to demonstrate habitual and historical drug use, but not as a screen for sobriety, on which mines focus.
Evans says urine testing provides a medium- length window of detection and, while it does require trained staff, is reasonably easy to administrate.
“Mines should use routine drug-screening tests to develop a database of test results to determine the effectiveness of drug-combating initiatives or education programmes,” he notes, adding that this database will enable them to compare money spent to the results of these initiatives, and then work with the relevant actors to mitigate abuse.