My question is ,,,, if I can break the seal on the sample bottle before I place it in the bag will it be unable to use for testing? After I pee in the cup I place the cap on it then put a sticker seal over the cap to seal it so the lid cant be removed without breaking the seal. So if I can break the seal will that cause the test to become invalid?
After someone gives a urine sample, the sample will be sealed with a tamper-evident seal / integrity seal before being sent to the laboratory for analysis. When the sample makes it to the lab, before we test the sample, the tamper-evident seal is checked for integrity. If it appears to have been tampered with or was damaged in transit, the lab rejects the sample and does not test it. We do this because we have to assume it may have been tampered with.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, appealed his four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, trying to argue since the seal was broken the test was invalid and the chain of custody was broken.
A major part of Sherman’s appeal, which was heard Friday, involved his claim that the cup containing his urine specimen was leaking, prompting the collector to place a second cup underneath it to capture any leakage, the source said. A decision on the appeal is expected to be announced by Thursday, according to a league source.
Sherman stated that the second cup’s seal already had been broken before being used to stop the leakage from his cup, according to the source. Since the second cup’s seal was broken, the chain of custody also was broken, therefore nullifying Sherman’s positive test for Adderall.
This isn’t some loop hole in our system, we are prepared for people trying to break the seal. Now what happens if you try to break the seal? If you’re caught breaking the seal that is an automatic refusal to test and you will be failed. Now if you do break the seal and somehow the sample makes it to our lab, we’ll reject the sample and the employer is notified about the issue. After their notified, it’s up to them if they either retest you or fire you. What do you think they will do if a second sample makes it to the lab and the seal if broken again?
If my (urine sample) drug test was left on the counter with only a lid on it and I was sent out of the room for 15 to 20 minutes in which the staff and patience had entered that area, and then I was taken back to that area to seal the sample, is that sample allowed to be sent off to test.
That’s a pretty serious collection issue. Almost all collection centers have policies were the tamper seal must be placed on in front of the person giving the sample in full view after handing over the sample. Now that your sample was left open for 15-20 minutes out of your view, you have no clue if it was tampered with.