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From: Robert Swotinsky MD
Password: orange
Date: 27 Dec 2007
Time: 08:54:33 -0800
Remote Name: 68.184.42.162
There are probably many reasons why the sample could have been cold, other than the most likely reason - "tampering." Some other possibilities would include:
(1) An inaccurate temperature strip. (Unlike the lab analyses, there is no national certification program that attests to the accuracy of temperature strips. Nor is there any standard and required procedure for affixing the strips to containers.)
(2) The collector miss-read the temperature strip
(3) Too much time elapsed between urinating in the cup and measuring the temperature
(4) The cup was cold (e.g., kept below room temp) prior to use and thus equilibrated w/the urine to reach a sub-90 degree temp.
(5) The donor produced a very small volume of urine - not enough to produce a valid temperature reading.
The federal drug testing rules, which are well thought out and many consider the gold standard, set no penalty for producing a cold specimen other than the immediate retest under direct observation. If an employer chooses to penalize employees for producing cold specimens, the employer is going out on a limb and, if challenged, may be unable to defend itself.