( 0.51 % vs . 0.50 %) and 43 % since the fiveyear high in 2014 ( 0.88 %). Similarly , the positivity for oxycodones ( oxycodone and / or oxymorphone ) declined more than 29 % between 2017 and 2018 ( 0.61 % vs . 0.43 %) and more than 46 % since the five-year high in 2014 ( 0.80 %).
Positivity rates for both heroin and cocaine declined in general and federally mandated safety-sensitive U . S . workforce testing .
Urine drug test results for the general U . S . workforce for heroin , indicated by the presence of the 6-acetylmorphine ( 6-AM ) metabolite , declined 6 % ( 0.033 % in 2017 versus 0.031 % in 2018 ) and more than 16 % since its peak in 2015 and 2016 ( 0.037 %). Cocaine positivity declined nearly 7 % in urine and more than 19 % in oral fluid testing , but increased slightly year-over-year ( 6.3 %) in hair testing .
Both heroin and cocaine positivity in the federally mandated , safety-sensitive workforce showed large declines between 2017 and 2018 . Heroin positivity declined nearly 32 % between 2017 and 2018 ( 0.019 % versus 0.013 %), with a decrease of more than 43 % since 2015 ( 0.023 %). 2018 positivity for cocaine declined nearly 10 % compared with 2017 ( 0.31 % versus 0.28 %), when the positivity rate was the highest in more than five years .
Changes to Federal rules for drug testing the federally mandated , safety-sensitive workforce went into effect in January 2018 . The addition of four semi-synthetic opiates contributed to the large increases in yearover-year positivity among those workers . In 2018 , testing for semi-synthetic opiates ( hydrocodone and / or hydromorphone ) and for oxycodones ( oxycodone and / or oxymorphone ), the positivity rate was 0.45 percent and 0.34 %, respectively . These positivity rates are both slightly less than general U . S . workforce testing .
Increases in post-accident positivity occur in both the federally mandated , safetysensitive and , general U . S . workforce
In the federally mandated , safetysensitive workforce , positivity for post-accident urine testing jumped more than 51 percent year-over-year ( 3.1 % in 2017 versus 4.7 % in 2018 ) and increased by nearly 81 percent between 2014 and 2018 . The jump in 2018 was largely driven by the addition of prescription opiates to the panel where the postaccident positivity for the semi-synthetic opiates ( hydrocodone and / or hydromorphone ) and for oxycodones ( oxycodone and / or oxymorphone ) was 1.1 percent and 0.77 %, respectively . Post-accident positivity in the general U . S . workforce climbed nine % year-over-year ( 7.7 % in 2017 versus 8.4 % in 2018 ), and 29 % over five years . The post-accident positivity rate has risen annually since 2011 in the
20 JUNE 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com