Latest Articles

International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Published Feb 2025

As part of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we asked Julie Davies, Laboratory Manager, for her thoughts...

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Workplace Drug Testing: Which option for your business?
Published Jun 2024

Anyone who works in a safety-critical environment will know how important it is to have a robust drug testing policy, but we understand that navigating the different options...

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An overview of tramadol testing
Published Jun 2025

Tramadol is an analgesic opioid used to treat pain. Tramadol is only available on prescription and should not be taken by anyone except the named person on...

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SLS Reaccredited to UKAS ISO17025
Published May 2022

SLS Laboratory Services are pleased to announce that we have successfully re-obtained our United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) ISO/IEC 17025...

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Bitesize Training Series
Published Mar 2022

To thank our customers for their ongoing support, in April and May we will be hosting 4 free bitesize webinars, to provide you with an insight into our training...

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Celebrating World Quality Day
Published Nov 2020

What quality means at SLS, the importance of quality and the steps we take to ensure it...

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DVLA selects SLS Laboratory Services
Published Sept 2020

SLS today announced that the company has been selected as the successful supplier for the DVLA. . .

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Heroin in the workplace
Published Aug 2024

A non-negative or positive result for opiates may ring alarm bells for some people due to the direct connotation to heroin.

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SLS 2020 Round Up
Published Jan 2021

Before we dive into another busy year, we’d like to share our review of 2020 and what you can expect from SLS Laboratory Services in 2021...

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Spotting the signs of drug and alcohol misuse
Published Nov 2024

Workplace drug and alcohol testing is vital to ensure that the physical safety of employees, however, it can also be a way to support employee wellbeing...

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SLS Appoints a New Business Development Manager
Published Oct 2020

SLS Laboratory Services today announced that they have further strengthened their experience and commitment to customer satisfaction through a new appointment...

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Adapting to COVID-19
Published Aug 2020

We caught up with one of our Training Consultants, Samantha Francis, to find out how her role has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic...

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Passive exposure to cannabis
Published Dec 2024

At SLS, a result is confirmed positive for Delta 9 THCC (the main metabolite of Cannabis) against a cut-off level of 15ng/ml...

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The link between alcohol and workplace productivity
Published Jan 2025

When we think about alcohol consumption and the workplace, discussions tend to focus on how drinking affects workplace safety...

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Breathalysers: Why we calibrate and how they work
Published Oct 2024

Breathalysers have been around for nearly 100 years and have been used by the police for breath alcohol testing in the UK since October 1967...

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Prevalence of Drugs in the UK
Published Jun 2024

Determining drug prevalence can be difficult because there is not a single dataset that covers over the counter, prescription and illicit drugs...

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The poppy seed defence: all you need to know
Published Jun 2024

The poppy seed defence: all you need to know. Some food products such as seeded breads, bagels, muffins and cakes contain poppy seeds...

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Chain of Custody: Why is it so important?
Published May 2024

Chain of Custody (CoC) refers to a series of checks and controls directing the collection, processing, reporting and storage of samples...

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Alcohol: Know Your Limits
Published Jun 2023

Alcohol charity Alcohol Change UK host the annual Alcohol Awareness Week; this year taking place from 3rd – 9th July...

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Benefits of Dry January on the Workplace 2023
Published Jan 2023

January 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Dry January, an Alcohol Change UK initiative to encourage people to stay alcohol free for 31 days...

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How a medical review officer supports drug and alcohol testing
Published Jun 2025

A medical review officer (MRO) is an independent and impartial licensed physician. The role of the MRO is to review laboratory drug and alcohol results...

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Questions and Answers on Network Rail Panel
Published Nov 2022

We caught up with Dr Richard Evers, Research and Development Manager at SLS Laboratory Services, to find out more about the changes that have been made...

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Logistics and Haulage Driver Shortage
Published Aug 2021

In recent weeks there have been calls for action to be taken by the UK government to curb the effects of what is being dubbed the ‘pingdemic’...

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Drink and Drug Driving Update in Statistics
Published Nov 2020

During the height of lockdown drink and drug driving was on the increase. In this blog, we are taking a look at why drink and drug driving is still an issue...

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Employers Role in Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing
Published Jul 2021

With COVID-19 restrictions easing and more employees returning to the office, the safety and wellbeing of employees is a topic that is front of mind for many employers...

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Alcohol Awareness Week 2020
Published Nov 2020

Did you know that this week is Alcohol Awareness Week? Taking place from the 16-22 November, the theme of this year’s event is alcohol and mental health...

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Toxicologist Awarded Masters Degree
Published Sept 2020

Sarah Probert, Senior Toxicologist, has recently been awarded with an MSc in Medical Toxicology with distinction, fitting in studying around her full time role...

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Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work - CIPD Report
Published Oct 2020

Recently the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, published a report on managing drug and alcohol misuse in the workplace...

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Benzene Testing - What You Need To Know
Published Sept 2020

In this article we take a closer look at benzene, where it can be found, what effects it can have on employees and routine testing options to keep your team safe...

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