A Call to Action on Opioids and Naloxone

The construction industry has been adversely impacted by the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis. Opioids impact both the overall mental health and wellbeing of the workforce as well as company performance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unintentional overdoses now comprise 9.5% of occupational fatalities among all industries. The intersection between substance misuse and suicide is well known. Nationally in 2022, there were approximately 50,000 deaths by suicide in the US, and over 108,000 overdose deaths. Construction has the second highest rate of suicide among major industries with a rate of 56 per 100,000 workers. The construction industry has the highest rate of death from overdose among 20 industries at 130.9 per 100,000 workers. Over 70% of these deaths are related to opioids with the synthetic fentanyl comprising not less than 75% of these.