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April 21, 2000 10:30 AM, EDT

The Department of Transportation’s effort to change its longstanding drug and alcohol testing policy is not going down smoothly with drivers or their bosses.

Trucking companies, trade associations and transportation unions were among the nearly 300 organizations and individuals submitting comments to the agency. The comment period on the proposed rule ended April 7, though opinions continued to flow into DOT for days after.

While providing no indication that it would reopen the comment period, DOT would only say that it would review late arrivals if possible.

One of the biggest changes in the 12-year-old rules proposed by DOT in December is the handling of urine samples suspected of containing chemical adulterants ("DOT Targets Test Cheating," 12-13, p. 1). Current regulations allow labs to perform a variety of tests to determine the validity of a sample. These include testing for adulterants to determine if the sample has been substituted or if a person has drunk large quantities of liquid to dilute the sample.

For the full story, see the Apr. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .