| Screening employees for drug abuse is nothing | | | | reported to stay in the urine for up to 5 days |
| new. The need to screen employees for alcohol | | | | after drinking, up to 2 days for a single drink and |
| abuse has always been a concern but hardly been | | | | up to 5 days after heavy drinking, well after |
| possible with previous methods because prior | | | | alcohol itself has been eliminated from the body. |
| testing methods were inaccurate and therefore a | | | | For many employers, this 5 day window |
| waste of company money. | | | | isn’t enough to prove a real problem. An |
| | | | | employee applying for a job could very well have |
| Employers for doctors, pilots, drivers and other | | | | been on vacation prior to the test or have been |
| positions demanding 100% attention while ensuring | | | | using hand sanitizer or other highly concentrated |
| the safety and responsibility for other people, | | | | alcohol products. The development of hair alcohol |
| want to make absolute certain of who they are | | | | testing changed everything. |
| investing in. | | | | |
| | | | | A team of German and British scientists |
| Besides the safety of the public, employers are | | | | discovered that EtG metabolites could be found in |
| also concerned about their reputation want to | | | | a small sample of scalp hair going back months, |
| avoid lawsuits. | | | | even up to a year’s worth of substance |
| | | | | abuse. Hair alcohol testing now helps employers |
| Previous methods to prescreen employees have | | | | prescreen potential employees and truly know |
| been breath and saliva tests. A person who was | | | | their alcohol consumption history. |
| under the influence of alcohol the previous night | | | | |
| my not test positive at 9 am the night morning | | | | This unique and fascinating discovery helps prove |
| because of the rapid elimination of alcohol from | | | | as well as disprove alcohol abuse in court cases |
| the body. Besides employees, high schools and | | | | like child custody and occurrences where alcohol |
| alcohol treatment centers among others have | | | | was thought to be a factor but wasn’t |
| been looking for a need to accurately test for | | | | able to be proven for lack of evidence and more. |
| alcohol abuse. | | | | |
| | | | | Employers can feel confident knowing they hired |
| Now there is an accurate way to test for chronic | | | | the right person for the job and the public can |
| alcohol abuse, where there wasn’t a way | | | | feel better knowing that highly certified and |
| before. A metabolite, ethyl glucuronide, (EtG) | | | | respected employees were accurately screened |
| found in urine as well as hair is only found when a | | | | for the benefit of public safety. |
| person has consumed alcohol. EtG has been | | | | |