CFR > Title 49 - Transportation > SUBTITLE A—Office of the Secretary of Transportation > PART 40—PROCEDURES FOR TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS > SUBPART F—Drug Testing Laboratories (§40.81 to §40.113) > 40.87—What are the cutoff concentrations for drug tests?

40.87—What are the cutoff concentrations for drug tests?

(a) As a laboratory, you must use the cutoff concentrations displayed in the following table for initial and confirmatory drug tests. All cutoff concentrations are expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). The table follows:
Initial test analyte Initial test cutoff concentration Confirmatory test analyte Confirmatory test cutoff concentration
Marijuana metabolites 50 ng/mL THCA 1 15 ng/mL.
Cocaine metabolites 150 ng/mL Benzoylecgonine 100 ng/mL.
Opiate metabolites
Codeine/Morphine2 2000 ng/mL Codeine 2000 ng/mL.
Morphine 2000 ng/mL.
6-Acetylmorphine 10 ng/mL 6-Acetylmorphine 10 ng/mL.
Phencyclidine 25 ng/mL Phencyclidine 25 ng/mL.
Amphetamines3
AMP/MAMP 4 500 ng/mL Amphetamine 250 ng/mL.
Methamphetamine5 250 ng/mL.
MDMA 6 500 ng/mL MDMA 250 ng/mL.
MDA7 250 ng/mL.
MDEA8 250 ng/mL
1 Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCA).
2 Morphine is the target analyte for codeine/morphine testing.
3 Either a single initial test kit or multiple initial test kits may be used provided the single test kit detects each target analyte independently at the specified cutoff.
4 Methamphetamine is the target analyte for amphetamine/methamphetamine testing.
5 To be reported positive for methamphetamine, a specimen must also contain amphetamine at a concentration equal to or greater than 100 ng/mL.
6 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
7 Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA).
8 Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA).
(b) On an initial drug test, you must report a result below the cutoff concentration as negative. If the result is at or above the cutoff concentration, you must conduct a confirmation test.
(c) On a confirmation drug test, you must report a result below the cutoff concentration as negative and a result at or above the cutoff concentration as confirmed positive.
(d) You must report quantitative values for morphine or codeine at 15,000 ng/mL or above.
(e) On a 6-AM confirmed positive result:
(1) When a 6-AM confirmed positive result is reported and morphine for that specimen is not reported at or above the 2000 per ng/mL confirmed positive cutoff, you must confer with the MRO to determine if there was confirmed morphine below 2000 ng/mL.
(2) If morphine was not confirmed below 2000 ng/mL, you and the MRO must determine whether further testing is needed to quantify the amount of morphine concentration present.
(3) If you find no detectable morphine at LOD upon further testing, you must report that fact to ODAPC immediately.
[65 FR 79526, Dec. 19, 2000, as amended at 75 FR 49862, Aug. 16, 2010]