Surge in On-the-Job Overdose Deaths Raises Concerns

The rate at which U.S. workers are dying on the job from drug overdoses has increased sharply, and opioids and illicit drugs are the main culprits, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported. The annual rate of workplace overdose fatalities climbed, by 24% from 2011 to 2016, reaching about 1.5 deaths per million workers in 2016, according to the NIOSH researchers. In contrast, the overall rate of work-related fatalities increased by only 0.2% during that time. The findings, based on an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, were published in the journal Inj...