Modern Mining August 2015

HEALTH AND SAFETY

particularly mining. One of the problems in Africa is that – South Africa apart – there seems to be very poor control of prescription drugs. One result of this is that we’re seeing very brisk demand for our ten panel tests, which test for not just the normal illegal drugs such as cocaine and mari- juana but also the most common pre- scription medicines that are abused.” ALCO-Safe can provide training and certify personnel in the correct operation

from its own purpose-built premises in Wales, Lion is recognised as one of the pioneers of the breathalyzer industry and in 1980 it won the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement for its development of fuel cell sensor tech- nology for use in breathalyzers. Its products are used by many UK police forces and are exported to more than 70 countries. The products within ALCO-Safe’s breatha- lyzer line-are differentiated on the basis of speed and ease of use. “In all, we have five breathalyzer units plus a disposable unit,” says Evans. “Our biggest seller is the Lion AlcoBlow Rapid Test which is a high-speed unit capable of testing 15 people per minute. It’s the obvi- ous choice for high volume locations such as mines where hundreds, sometimes even thou- sands, of people per day are passing through entrance points. “At the other end of the range, we have the extremely sophisticated Lion Alcometer 600, which offers a full touch screen, a GPS facility and also data logging ability. The data logging feature allows information such as the test subject’s name and ID number – as well as the operator’s ID number – to be captured. Of course, with the built-in GPS the exact loca- tion at which a test has taken place can also be logged.” Evans adds that a new development, in conjunction with Lion, is an unmanned breathalyzer known as ALCOSentry, expected to be available in South Africa very shortly. “Typically, we see this being fitted to turnstiles and it will not allow access to anyone failing the test. It will have several optional extras, including a camera link,” he explains. In respect of drug testing equipment, ALCO- Safe can provide multiple solutions ranging from single strip drug tests which test for one specific drug type, multiple panel drug tests which test for six or ten different drugs in one test and drug testing cups which test for six or ten different drugs in one cup. Disposable saliva tests are available to test for six different drugs in one test. Evans says the flagship of the range is the Alere DDS2, which combines speed, ease of use and reliability. Test results for multiple drugs are available within five minutes once a saliva sample has been collected. The system is light- weight, portable and compact with a full colour screen – readable day or night – and can store 10 000 results. Says Evans: “Drug abuse is now starting to be very common and we’ve seen a huge increase in demand over the past couple of years for drug testing equipment – from all industries but

and usage of all the products it sells and also offers a complete rapid repair and calibration service on its electronic devices. Evans stresses that while it is perfectly legal for mines to screen employees for alcohol and drug use, great care has to be taken when test- ing programmes are planned and instituted. “Management cannot simply impose pro- grammes arbitrarily without due regard for workers’ rights,” he says. “It’s important to follow the right procedures and absolutely imperative that the unions are brought on board and that concerns they might have – for example, over the reliability of test results – are addressed. We can help with this. The experience we’ve gained over many years means that we can advise on the development of substance abuse policies and control pro- grammes that are effective, fair to all parties and legally compliant.” A final point that Evans makes is that the benefits to mines of having substance abuse programmes in place goes well beyond simple compliance with the law. “There’s no ques- tion that abuse of alcohol and drugs negatively affects the competence and productivity of workers,” he states. “While it’s difficult to quantify the scale of this impact, I think that few would disagree with the proposition that ensuring that workers are free of alcohol and drugs must result in improved productivity, better relationships in the workplace and a reduced potential for accidents to occur, which are all benefits that eventually translate to the bottom line.” 

Multi-panel drug screen tests are used to test urine samples for a variety of drugs of abuse, providing an instant result at the point of care.

“One of the problems in Africa

is that – South Africa apart –

there seems to be very poor control of prescription drugs.” Rhys Evans, Director of ALCO-Safe

August 2015  MODERN MINING  49