Company says no workers harmed by fentanyl

A July 20 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a letter supposedly from the company Precision Pipeline to its employees that describes a "tragic incident" involving two pipeline workers in the Chicago area.

"We regret to inform you of a tragic incident that occurred two days ago involving NPL Pipeline Company in the Chicago suburbs," reads the letter, which is dated July 20. "During the project, two flaggers were offered bottles of water by an unknown individual in a passing car. Sadly, one of the flaggers lost their life, and the other is currently in critical condition. After conducting an investigation, it is suspected that the water provided to the flaggers was laced with fentanyl."

The post was shared more than 2,000 times in four days.

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The company that supposedly employed the two workers involved in the incident refuted the claim on social media, calling it "entirely false" and saying none of their employees were involved in such an incident.

The letter claims the incident involved workers from "NPL Pipeline Company," an apparent reference to NPL Construction Co., a natural gas infrastructure company with offices in the Chicago area and elsewhere.

However, in a statement released across multiple social media platforms, NPL said this was a "false report" about its workers being harmed by fentanyl-laced water, describing the claim as "entirely false."

"No NPL employees have been involved in any incident of this nature anywhere throughout the country," reads the statement. "We are unsure where this story originated but can confirm no NPL employees have been harmed in this way."

The letter appears to be written on letterhead from Precision Pipeline, a pipeline contractor with locations in Wisconsin, Illinois and California. The logo on the company's website matches what appears on the letter, and the address on the letter matches the address of the company's offices in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The letter is addressed to "crew members" and asks them to be "vigilant and watchful of any suspicious behavior."

Precision Pipeline did not respond to a request for comment.

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In a July 21 tweet, Luis Agostini, a public information officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago division, said, "Don't believe everything on social media, especially urban legends/misinformation about construction workers and fentanyl-laced water bottles."

The DEA declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that's up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it's a major contributor to drug overdoses in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Even in small doses, it can be deadly," the agency's website says. "Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl."

USA TODAY has previously debunked false claims about fentanyl, including that it smells like popcorn when burned, that limited physical contact with it can cause an overdose and that people were being harmed by fentanyl-laced money.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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