Report: Opioids Cost Midwest Construction Industry Billions

Opioids — including heroin and fentanyl — killed nearly 1,000 construction workers in the Midwest at a cost of more than $5 billion to the region’s construction industry in 2015, according to estimates in a new report by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute.

The report confirms a trend identified by Dayton Daily News data analysis in December that showed all types of laborers — particularly those in construction — are more likely to die from opioid overdoses than Ohioans in other professions.

The report notes that according to the National Safety Council ’s 2017 Survey on Drug Use and Substance Abuse, 15% of construction workers struggle with substance abuse—nearly twice the national average.

And across the Midwest 60% to 80% of all workers compensation claims have involved opioids.

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