Contractors across Massachusetts halted work June 5 to bring attention to the state’s alarming rate of contractor opioid deaths, WBUR reported.
The work stoppage was initiated by the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, which also organized opioid-focused talks at 50 construction sites throughout the state.
A Department of Public Health report found that construction workers in Massachusetts are six times more likely to die from an overdose compared with other workers in the state. Construction workers also made up 24% of all fatal opioid overdoses among workers in Massachusetts between 2011 and 2015.
The goal of the work stoppage was to get the word out about the risk of overdosing, AGC Massachusetts CEO Robert Petrucelli told WBUR. “It was clear we had to do something,” Petrucelli said. “No one talks about this, but it permeates our industry.”
AGC has also teamed up with Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction to create an opioids safety program for construction sites.
A national Center for Disease Control and Prevention study published last year found that people in the construction industry had the highest rate of opioid deaths among all other professions.
