Urine testing at Veolia ES Technical Solutions, a hazardous waste management company, follows the stringent protocols of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said Michael Richter, director for health and safety with Veolia's hazardous waste division in Flanders, N.J.

Under the guidelines, the urine specimen is collected at a clinic and sent for analysis to a certified lab, which sends a report to a medical review officer, a licensed physician.

The MRO then reports positive tests for illegal substances to the appropriate corporate staff person.

The SAMHSA guidelines are the “gold standard” because they are “thoroughly vetted,” said Mr. Richter.

At Veolia, they are used for pre-employment testing and also are administered at random to commercial drivers and employees who work with hazardous materials.

Injured workers who may be on prescribed narcotics or opioids may be selected at random for the same testing procedures, he said.

AllOne Health of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., an occupational health company, provides the computerized random selection service.

Workers are trained on the seriousness of working with hazardous waste and are made aware that if they test positive for drugs or alcohol, they are terminated, Mr. Richter said.

“We infrequently have positive test results in our random program, and very infrequently in post-accidents of any type,” said Mr. Richter.

The keys to the success of the program are pre-employment testing, which screens out those who test positive, and offering “amnesty” to workers who come forward before testing and admit to drug use. Those workers enter into an agreement to accept help, including counseling and rehab, he said.

If the MRO gets a positive test result for an injured worker, he will ask the worker's permission to speak with his or her doctor to verify that the drug is being prescribed.

“We don't do any compliance testing (to verify that the drug is being taken appropriately) — that's between the doctor and the patient,” Mr. Richter said.