People can adulterate a sample in a variety of ways and as a tester, it pays to be aware of what substances and methods are used in adulteration!

• Water – Water is a very common adulterant used to dilute the level of drugs present in a urine sample. Dilution can be done by scooping or pouring water into the drug cup, or simply drinking excessive amounts of water before providing a sample.
• Bleach – Bleach can be added to the sample to interfere with the detection of drugs and cause false results. This is often smuggled in under the fingernails, but can be stopped by asking the donor to thoroughly wash their hands with warm soapy water before providing a sample.
• Salt – This can be added to make a sample more concentrated in the hope of covering any presence of drugs.
• Creatinine – All cups verified to the standard will test for creatinine levels. If you see a low level of creatinine, the sample is likely to have been diluted. A high level of creatinine can mean synthetic creatinine has been added to the sample to mask the drugs present.
• Synthetic Urine – This can be used instead of the donor providing a sample. Synthetic urine can be hard to detect once it has been provided as a sample, but is often easily found on the donor prior to a test.

This is only a few of the most common methods of adulteration – there is plenty more!