TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2012//
TI  - Prevalence of drug abuse among workers: strengths and pitfalls of the recent Italian Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) legislation
JO  - Forensic science international
A1  - Kazanga, Isabel
A1  - Tameni, Silvia
A1  - Piccinotti, Alberto
A1  - Floris, Ivan
A1  - Zanchetti, Gabriele
A1  - Polettini, Aldo
SP  - 46
EP  - 50
VL  - 215
IS  - 1-3
N2  - BACKGROUND: In 2008 a Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) law became effective in Italy for workers involved in public/private transportation, oil/gas companies, and explosives/fireworks industry with the aim to ensure public safety for the community. AIMS: To examine and elaborate WDT data collected on a large group of workers (over 43,500) during March 2009-February 2010 in order to highlight pros and cons and to draw suggestions for policies in the field. SETTING: Northern Italy. METHODS: After ≤24h notification, workers provided a urine sample screened for opiates, methadone, buprenorphine, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, and cannabinoids (THC) by immunoassay. Positives were confirmed by GC-MS. RESULTS: The positive rate was 2.0%, THC being most frequent drug (1.3%; cocaine, 0.4%; opioids, 0.3%). 6.9% of the positive workers tested positive for ≥2 classes (most often THC+cocaine). Gender ratio and mean age were significantly lower in positives (F/M=0.007; 35.5±8.3years) than negatives (0.016 and 40.7±9.5, respectively). No decline in rates of positives and an increase of diluted samples over time were observed. The highest rates of positives were detected when sampling was performed just before/after week-end and during morning hours. Possible correlation between job type and drugs used were observed (e.g. more cocaine positives among road vehicle-drivers than among lift truck-drivers). Declared use of medicine/illicit drugs during the preceding week showed that illicit drug use was likely not always detected in urine and that almost 4% workers declared use of medicine drugs possibly affecting performance. CONCLUSIONS: This survey enabled to evidence relevant pitfalls of the law and to define strategies to improve the outcomes of WDT policies.    Keywords: Cannabis impaired driving; DUID; Ethanol impaired driving  <p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0379-0738
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.03.009
ID  - ref1
ER  -