(NEWSnet/AP) — The U.S. cannabis-production industry’s first reported occupational-related asthma death took the life of a worker in Massachusetts, federal health and safety officials said.

The woman, 27, was working in a cannabis cultivation and processing facility when she experienced work-related respiratory symptoms that ended in a fatal asthma attack in January 2022, officials said in a federal report published Thursday.

The report states allergic diseases such as asthma are a growing concern in the U.S. cannabis industry.

The report said the worker’s death “illustrates missed opportunities for prevention, including workplace exposures, medical surveillance, and treatment according to the current asthma guidelines.” The report does not name the worker or the Massachusetts facility.

The report does state that evaluation is essential for cannabis facility-workers with asthma. That approach could help prevent workplace deaths when paired with “with prompt diagnosis and medical management,” the report states.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the report. It includes analysis from a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection that included a worksite exposure assessment, coworker and next-of-kin interviews, medical record reviews and collaboration with Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The report cites studies that identify respiratory hazards in the cannabis cultivation and production industry, such as microbial and plant allergens. The report also states pesticide, and allergens specific to the cannabis plant, can be a hazard.

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