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- 10% of workers are abusing drugs
and/or alcohol on the job (National Institute on Drug
Abuse)
- $9,600 is the identifiable cost to
the employer for each abuser each year (U.S. Dept. of
Labor)
- 65% of accidents on the job are
caused by substance abuse (O.S.H.A.)
- 3 times as many sickness benefits
are used by abusers (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
- Abusers are 6 times more likely to
file a Worker's Comp Claim (Occupational Health & Safety
Magazine)
- There are 16 times more work
absences from abusers (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
- 10% of adult dementia in the
United States results from alcohol-related brain damage (Prevention Pipeline, July/August, 1994)
- Alcohol is involved in over 13,000
crashes each year (Federico Pena, U.S. Transportation
Secretary)
- Approximately 40,000 Americans die
each year as a result of direct and indirect effects of drugs (The New York Times Magazine, December 18, 1994)
- In 1994, 45.6% of high school
seniors had used an illicit drug at least once in their life, up from 42.9% In
1993 (University of Michigan study)
Workplace Deaths and "Positive"
Drug & Alcohol Tests
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) study released November 1, 1994, as many as one in six workers killed on
the job in 1991 (6,083 workplace fatalities were reported in all) consumed
alcohol, drugs and/or some other toxic substances prior to their fatal
accidents. Some of the major findings include:
- In about 1/6 of the cases, fatally
injured workers tested positive for toxic substances, most frequently alcohol,
followed by cocaine and marijuana.
- 62% of suicides tested positive
for toxic substances.
- 46% of the victims of
"unintentional death"' (vehicle crashes, electrocutions, falls, etc.) tested
positive for alcohol.
- 68% of the victims of "intentional
death" (homicides and suicides) tested positive for alcohol.
- Cocaine use was detected in 19% of
"intentional" workplace deaths and 15% of "unintentional" workplace
deaths.
- 54% of workers between the ages of
35 and 44 who were killed in intentional workplace incidents had positive
toxicological test results, a larger proportion than any other age
group.
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