Massachusetts Study Reveals Correlation Between Hazardous Jobs And Opioid Crisis

Today, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) released a groundbreaking report confirming what labor advocates have been saying for years: dangerous jobs are playing a direct role in opiate addiction and overdoses in the state. The 21-page study titled Opioid-related Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts by Industry and Occupation, 2011-2015 found that there were a total of 5,580 opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts from 2011 through 2015. Of the 4,284 worker death certificates deemed comprehensive enough to study, 1,096 were found to be employed in construction/extraction.