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MSHA Health & Safety Alert - Resource Guide to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder

 

HEALTH & SAFETY
ALERT

Resource Guide to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder

MSHA and NIOSH have partnered together to publish a resource guide to help employers protect workers from the dangers of opioid use disorder.

  • The goal of this guide is to provide mine operators, occupational safety and health managers, and others with actionable tools to more effectively plan, implement, and integrate a range of workplace interventions to prevent prescription opioid misuse, illegal opioid use, and opioid use disorder among mine workers.
     
  • Opioids are pain-relieving medications that can be made from natural or synthetic substances. Opioids are extremely addictive. Long-term use of opioids increases the risk of opioid use disorder and overdose.
  • Opioid use disorder can be diagnosed by criteria such as continued use despite negative consequences, craving for opioids, a pattern of taking larger amounts of opioids over a longer period than intended, and withdrawal symptoms in the absence of opioids.
     
  • Mine workers have been found to have among the highest rates of illegal opioid use compared to workers in other industries.

Click here to visit the MSHA/NIOSH Opioid Resource Guide

learn more

Miners and mine operators can find safety and health information on MSHA.gov.