DOT Issues Interim Final Rule on 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM)

Posted for public inspection in today’s Federal Register for publication Friday, May 4, 2012, is a Department of Transportation Interim Final Rule:  

Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

6-Acetylmorphine (6-AM) Testing

 

The following is a summary of the Interim Final Rule (IFR):

 

1)       The Department is amending certain provisions of its drug testing procedures for 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), a unique metabolite for heroin.

 

2)       The IFR is intended to streamline the laboratory process for analyzing and reporting 6-AM positive test results and is designed to facilitate Medical Review Officer (MRO) verification of 6-AM positive results.

 

3)       Effective July 3, 2012:

 

a)      For Laboratories:

• Laboratories will not be required to consult with MROs when 6-AM is confirmed and there is no morphine detected at 2000 ng/mL;
• In such cases, laboratories will not be required to test for morphine at Limit of Detection (LOD); and
• Laboratories will not be required to report these 6-AM results to ODAPC.

 

b)      For MROs:

• MROs will no longer be required to consult with laboratories when 6-AM is confirmed and there is no morphine detected at 2000 ng/mL; and
• MROs will not be required to report these 6-AM results to and consult with ODAPC.

 

4)       MROs will continue to adhere to 40.151(g) by not accepting an employee’s assertion that there is a legitimate medical explanation for the presence of 6-AM in a specimen.

 

5)       Public comments regarding the IFR will be accepted until June 3, 2012.

The document can be viewed at the Federal Register’s Public Inspection website:  https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2012-10665.pdf (This link is only good for today, May 3, 2012). 

We expect to have the actual Federal Register IFR on our website Friday, May 4, 2012:  http://www.dot.gov/odapc/frpubs.html.