Drug use in the construction industry has long been a concern of employers attempting to improve productivity while decreasing the number of accidents and worker compensation claims. A new technology called DrugWipe could help business owners stem employee drug use through proactive monitoring.
Global Detection and Reporting Inc., the manufacturer of DrugWipe, claims its product can instantly detect and identify traces of cocaine, cannabis, heroin, amphetamine and methamphetamines on a surface to a nanogram level. The construction industry is one of the commercial markets to which the company is marketing DrugWipe.
“Most industries have the same problem,” said Roger Dietch, CEO of Global Detection and Reporting. “It’s pretty much the same wherever we go.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports 44 percent of drug users work for small companies. The agency also determined 38 to 50 percent of all workers’ compensation claims are related to substance abuse.
Dietch said many employers are not aware of potential drug problems in their businesses. In addition to increased workers’ compensation claims, drug use can lead to employee theft and decreased productivity. He said DrugWipe, a “sophisticated lab on a stick,” could determine if a problem exists and give employers evidence to stop it.
The product works by testing for the raw drug, so trafficking residue as well as sweat deposited from impaired users can be detected. Patented biosensors embedded in the wand-like device – reagents of the drug itself – are triggered if that drug is found on the surface tested.
“It picks up a lot of things, but the only thing that will trigger is the [drug] reagent,” Dietch said. DrugWipe could potentially be used to detect anything from Anthrax to the SARS virus, he said.
