[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 3]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR199.111]

[Page 219]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
 CHAPTER I--RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                       TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED)
 
PART 199_DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B_Drug Testing
 
Sec. 199.111  Retention of samples and additional testing.

    (a) Samples that yield positive results on confirmation must be 
retained by the laboratory in properly secured, long-term, frozen 
storage for at least 365 days as required by the DOT Procedures. Within 
this 365-day period, the employee or the employee's representative, the 
operator, the Administrator, or, if the operator is subject to the 
jurisdiction of a state agency, the state agency may request that the 
laboratory retain the sample for an additional period. If, within the 
365-day period, the laboratory has not received a proper written request 
to retain the sample for a further reasonable period specified in the 
request, the sample may be discarded following the end of the 365-day 
period.
    (b) If the medical review officer (MRO) determines there is no 
legitimate medical explanation for a confirmed positive test result 
other than the unauthorized use of a prohibited drug, and if timely 
additional testing is requested by the employee according to DOT 
Procedures, the split specimen must be tested. The employee may specify 
testing by the original laboratory or by a second laboratory that is 
certified by the Department of Health and Human Services. The operator 
may require the employee to pay in advance the cost of shipment (if any) 
and reanalysis of the sample, but the employee must be reimbursed for 
such expense if the additional test is negative.
    (c) If the employee specifies testing by a second laboratory, the 
original laboratory must follow approved chain-of-custody procedures in 
transferring a portion of the sample.
    (d) Since some analytes may deteriorate during storage, detected 
levels of the drug below the detection limits established in the DOT 
Procedures, but equal to or greater than the established sensitivity of 
the assay, must, as technically appropriate, be reported and considered 
corroborative of the original positive results.

[53 FR 47096, Nov. 21, 1988; 55 FR 797, Jan. 9, 1990, as amended by 
Amdt. 199-17, 63 FR 7723, Feb. 17, 1998. Redesignated and amended by 
Amdt. 199-19, 66 FR 47118, Sept. 11, 2001]