A Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) Refresher Training Module for Stone, Sand and Gravel Workers
Tailored Training for Stone, Sand, and Gravel Operations
This free innovative opioid hazard awareness training module is designed for sand and gravel workers, and runs approximately 45-minutes.
This training fits the requirements of the MSHA Part 46 Health and Safety Refresher Training “Health” section.
The module includes interactive questions to stimulate discussion. As an instructor, you are actively involved by monitoring the trainees’ progress through the module and engaging the trainees in the content.
To Access Training Materials:
Please email: Cora_Roelofs@uml.edu to request the training materials.
The training materials include:
- PowerPoint Slides
- a Facilitators’ Guide with slide-by-slide instructions and
- a Participant’s Handout
Why You Should Include This Module In Your Training Plans
The opioid crisis is an ongoing public health crisis that has impacted millions of Americans. Analyses of the death certificates of those who have died of opioid overdose show that workers in physically-demanding jobs have been disproportionately impacted. “Extraction worker” – a category that includes stone, sand, and gravel miners -- is the leading occupation of those who have died from prescription opioids (Centers for Disease Control: Occupational Patterns in Unintentional and Undetermined Drug-Involved and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths).
Additionally, injured miners are more likely to receive opioids from doctors for their pain, and those prescriptions are longer and higher doses than those with other occupations (Workers Compensation Research Institute: Correlates of Opioid Dispensing). Risk factors for stone, sand, and gravel workers include exposure to hazards that can cause painful injuries, such as falls from equipment and sedentary work, a leading cause of low back pain.
Training Content
- Why Opioid Hazard Awareness is Important for Stone, Sand and Gravel Miners
- Risk Factors for Opioid Addiction
- What's an Opioid and How Opioids Work
- Prevention and Harm Reduction including Tips for the Doctor's Office
- The Harms of Stigma and Treatment Resources
- The Total Worker Health® approach
New Resource Now Available!
The Employer Guide to Preventing Opioid Harms in the Stone, Sand, and Gravel Mining Sector (pdf) is now available for download!
This practical guide is tailored to the needs of the sector. It includes such tools as an Employer Opioid Hazard Awareness Program Checklist, model drug testing policies, and how to respond to an overdose. Every employer can find something here to help them address the issue – from no-cost training programs that meet existing requirements to fully establishing yours as a Recovery Friendly Workplace.
Funding Acknowledgements
This project is funded by the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health.
The views, opinions and recommendations expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not imply any endorsement by the Alpha Foundation, its directors and staff.
For more information, read the ROCKProducts feature story on Opioids & Aggregates.