VIDEO: The opioid epidemic continues to take a toll across the country and here in Northeast Ohio. Fentanyl has become a top killer. It is now the most commonly used drug involved in overdoses. The powerful synthetic opioid is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Exposure to the drug has become another risk first responders face on the job. Now some senators and congress members are trying a new approach to protect first responders. 19 Investigates recently spoke with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D- OH) from his office in Washington D.C. “This is a serious public health problem that we kind of put aside during the pandemic. It’s got to be front and center when it comes to mental health and addiction and death,” Sen. Brown said. Sen. Brown is working across the aisle to protect first responders from exposure to fentanyl.