diff --git a/src/librustc/ty/maps/job.rs b/src/librustc/ty/maps/job.rs
index e28435489bd..3da73d47a0b 100644
--- a/src/librustc/ty/maps/job.rs
+++ b/src/librustc/ty/maps/job.rs
@@ -151,6 +151,10 @@ impl<'tcx> QueryJob<'tcx> {
         #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
         self.latch.set();
     }
+
+    fn as_ptr(&self) -> *const QueryJob<'tcx> {
+        self as *const _
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
@@ -233,13 +237,9 @@ impl<'tcx> QueryLatch<'tcx> {
     }
 }
 
-/// A pointer to an active query job. This is used to give query jobs an identity.
-#[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-type Ref<'tcx> = *const QueryJob<'tcx>;
-
 /// A resumable waiter of a query. The usize is the index into waiters in the query's latch
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-type Waiter<'tcx> = (Ref<'tcx>, usize);
+type Waiter<'tcx> = (Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>, usize);
 
 /// Visits all the non-resumable and resumable waiters of a query.
 /// Only waiters in a query are visited.
@@ -251,15 +251,13 @@ type Waiter<'tcx> = (Ref<'tcx>, usize);
 /// required information to resume the waiter.
 /// If all `visit` calls returns None, this function also returns None.
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-fn visit_waiters<'tcx, F>(query_ref: Ref<'tcx>, mut visit: F) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>>
+fn visit_waiters<'tcx, F>(query: Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>, mut visit: F) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>>
 where
-    F: FnMut(Span, Ref<'tcx>) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>>
+    F: FnMut(Span, Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>>
 {
-    let query = unsafe { &*query_ref };
-
     // Visit the parent query which is a non-resumable waiter since it's on the same stack
     if let Some(ref parent) = query.parent {
-        if let Some(cycle) = visit(query.info.span, &**parent as Ref) {
+        if let Some(cycle) = visit(query.info.span, parent.clone()) {
             return Some(cycle);
         }
     }
@@ -267,9 +265,9 @@ where
     // Visit the explict waiters which use condvars and are resumable
     for (i, waiter) in query.latch.info.lock().waiters.iter().enumerate() {
         if let Some(ref waiter_query) = waiter.query {
-            if visit(waiter.span, &**waiter_query).is_some() {
+            if visit(waiter.span, waiter_query.clone()).is_some() {
                 // Return a value which indicates that this waiter can be resumed
-                return Some(Some((query_ref, i)));
+                return Some(Some((query.clone(), i)));
             }
         }
     }
@@ -281,12 +279,13 @@ where
 /// If a cycle is detected, this initial value is replaced with the span causing
 /// the cycle.
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-fn cycle_check<'tcx>(query: Ref<'tcx>,
+fn cycle_check<'tcx>(query: Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>,
                      span: Span,
-                     stack: &mut Vec<(Span, Ref<'tcx>)>,
-                     visited: &mut HashSet<Ref<'tcx>>) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>> {
-    if visited.contains(&query) {
-        return if let Some(p) = stack.iter().position(|q| q.1 == query) {
+                     stack: &mut Vec<(Span, Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>)>,
+                     visited: &mut HashSet<*const QueryJob<'tcx>>
+) -> Option<Option<Waiter<'tcx>>> {
+    if visited.contains(&query.as_ptr()) {
+        return if let Some(p) = stack.iter().position(|q| q.1.as_ptr() == query.as_ptr()) {
             // We detected a query cycle, fix up the initial span and return Some
 
             // Remove previous stack entries
@@ -300,8 +299,8 @@ fn cycle_check<'tcx>(query: Ref<'tcx>,
     }
 
     // Mark this query is visited and add it to the stack
-    visited.insert(query);
-    stack.push((span, query));
+    visited.insert(query.as_ptr());
+    stack.push((span, query.clone()));
 
     // Visit all the waiters
     let r = visit_waiters(query, |span, successor| {
@@ -320,18 +319,21 @@ fn cycle_check<'tcx>(query: Ref<'tcx>,
 /// from `query` without going through any of the queries in `visited`.
 /// This is achieved with a depth first search.
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-fn connected_to_root<'tcx>(query: Ref<'tcx>, visited: &mut HashSet<Ref<'tcx>>) -> bool {
+fn connected_to_root<'tcx>(
+    query: Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>,
+    visited: &mut HashSet<*const QueryJob<'tcx>>
+) -> bool {
     // We already visited this or we're deliberately ignoring it
-    if visited.contains(&query) {
+    if visited.contains(&query.as_ptr()) {
         return false;
     }
 
     // This query is connected to the root (it has no query parent), return true
-    if unsafe { (*query).parent.is_none() } {
+    if query.parent.is_none() {
         return true;
     }
 
-    visited.insert(query);
+    visited.insert(query.as_ptr());
 
     let mut connected = false;
 
@@ -351,7 +353,7 @@ fn connected_to_root<'tcx>(query: Ref<'tcx>, visited: &mut HashSet<Ref<'tcx>>) -
 /// the function returns false.
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
 fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
-    jobs: &mut Vec<Ref<'tcx>>,
+    jobs: &mut Vec<Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>>,
     wakelist: &mut Vec<Lrc<QueryWaiter<'tcx>>>,
     tcx: TyCtxt<'_, 'tcx, '_>
 ) -> bool {
@@ -367,7 +369,7 @@ fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
 
         // Extract the spans and queries into separate arrays
         let mut spans: Vec<_> = stack.iter().map(|e| e.0).collect();
-        let queries = stack.iter().map(|e| e.1);
+        let queries = stack.into_iter().map(|e| e.1);
 
         // Shift the spans so that queries are matched with the span for their waitee
         let last = spans.pop().unwrap();
@@ -378,23 +380,25 @@ fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
 
         // Remove the queries in our cycle from the list of jobs to look at
         for r in &stack {
-            jobs.remove_item(&r.1);
+            if let Some(pos) = jobs.iter().position(|j| j.as_ptr() == r.1.as_ptr()) {
+                jobs.remove(pos);
+            }
         }
 
         // Find the queries in the cycle which are
         // connected to queries outside the cycle
-        let entry_points: Vec<Ref<'_>> = stack.iter().filter_map(|query| {
+        let entry_points: Vec<Lrc<QueryJob<'tcx>>> = stack.iter().filter_map(|query| {
             // Mark all the other queries in the cycle as already visited
             let mut visited = HashSet::from_iter(stack.iter().filter_map(|q| {
-                if q.1 != query.1 {
-                    Some(q.1)
+                if q.1.as_ptr() != query.1.as_ptr() {
+                    Some(q.1.as_ptr())
                 } else {
                     None
                 }
             }));
 
-            if connected_to_root(query.1, &mut visited) {
-                Some(query.1)
+            if connected_to_root(query.1.clone(), &mut visited) {
+                Some(query.1.clone())
             } else {
                 None
             }
@@ -403,14 +407,14 @@ fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
         // Deterministically pick an entry point
         // FIXME: Sort this instead
         let mut hcx = tcx.create_stable_hashing_context();
-        let entry_point = *entry_points.iter().min_by_key(|&&q| {
+        let entry_point = entry_points.iter().min_by_key(|q| {
             let mut stable_hasher = StableHasher::<u64>::new();
-            unsafe { (*q).info.query.hash_stable(&mut hcx, &mut stable_hasher); }
+            q.info.query.hash_stable(&mut hcx, &mut stable_hasher);
             stable_hasher.finish()
-        }).unwrap();
+        }).unwrap().as_ptr();
 
         // Shift the stack until our entry point is first
-        while stack[0].1 != entry_point {
+        while stack[0].1.as_ptr() != entry_point {
             let last = stack.pop().unwrap();
             stack.insert(0, last);
         }
@@ -418,24 +422,21 @@ fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
         // Create the cycle error
         let mut error = CycleError {
             usage: None,
-            cycle: stack.iter().map(|&(s, q)| QueryInfo {
+            cycle: stack.iter().map(|&(s, ref q)| QueryInfo {
                 span: s,
-                query: unsafe { (*q).info.query.clone() },
+                query: q.info.query.clone(),
             } ).collect(),
         };
 
         // We unwrap `waiter` here since there must always be one
         // edge which is resumeable / waited using a query latch
         let (waitee_query, waiter_idx) = waiter.unwrap();
-        let waitee_query = unsafe { &*waitee_query };
 
         // Extract the waiter we want to resume
         let waiter = waitee_query.latch.extract_waiter(waiter_idx);
 
         // Set the cycle error so it will be picked up when resumed
-        unsafe {
-            *waiter.cycle.lock() = Some(error);
-        }
+        *waiter.cycle.lock() = Some(error);
 
         // Put the waiter on the list of things to resume
         wakelist.push(waiter);
@@ -448,8 +449,9 @@ fn remove_cycle<'tcx>(
 
 /// Creates a new thread and forwards information in thread locals to it.
 /// The new thread runs the deadlock handler.
+/// Must only be called when a deadlock is about to happen.
 #[cfg(parallel_queries)]
-pub fn handle_deadlock() {
+pub unsafe fn handle_deadlock() {
     use syntax;
     use syntax_pos;
 
@@ -458,25 +460,23 @@ pub fn handle_deadlock() {
     let gcx_ptr = tls::GCX_PTR.with(|gcx_ptr| {
         gcx_ptr as *const _
     });
-    let gcx_ptr = unsafe { &*gcx_ptr };
+    let gcx_ptr = &*gcx_ptr;
 
     let syntax_globals = syntax::GLOBALS.with(|syntax_globals| {
         syntax_globals as *const _
     });
-    let syntax_globals = unsafe { &*syntax_globals };
+    let syntax_globals = &*syntax_globals;
 
     let syntax_pos_globals = syntax_pos::GLOBALS.with(|syntax_pos_globals| {
         syntax_pos_globals as *const _
     });
-    let syntax_pos_globals = unsafe { &*syntax_pos_globals };
+    let syntax_pos_globals = &*syntax_pos_globals;
     thread::spawn(move || {
         tls::GCX_PTR.set(gcx_ptr, || {
             syntax_pos::GLOBALS.set(syntax_pos_globals, || {
                 syntax_pos::GLOBALS.set(syntax_pos_globals, || {
                     tls::with_thread_locals(|| {
-                        unsafe {
-                            tls::with_global(|tcx| deadlock(tcx, &registry))
-                        }
+                        tls::with_global(|tcx| deadlock(tcx, &registry))
                     })
                 })
             })
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ fn deadlock(tcx: TyCtxt<'_, '_, '_>, registry: &rayon_core::Registry) {
     });
 
     let mut wakelist = Vec::new();
-    let mut jobs: Vec<_> = tcx.maps.collect_active_jobs().iter().map(|j| &**j as Ref).collect();
+    let mut jobs: Vec<_> = tcx.maps.collect_active_jobs();
 
     let mut found_cycle = false;
 
diff --git a/src/librustc_driver/driver.rs b/src/librustc_driver/driver.rs
index c2a450a1122..37f8bff964f 100644
--- a/src/librustc_driver/driver.rs
+++ b/src/librustc_driver/driver.rs
@@ -85,9 +85,10 @@ pub fn spawn_thread_pool<F: FnOnce(config::Options) -> R + sync::Send, R: sync::
 
     let gcx_ptr = &Lock::new(0);
 
-    let config = ThreadPoolBuilder::new().num_threads(Session::query_threads_from_opts(&opts))
-                                         .deadlock_handler(ty::maps::handle_deadlock)
-                                         .stack_size(16 * 1024 * 1024);
+    let config = ThreadPoolBuilder::new()
+        .num_threads(Session::query_threads_from_opts(&opts))
+        .deadlock_handler(|| unsafe { ty::maps::handle_deadlock() })
+        .stack_size(16 * 1024 * 1024);
 
     let with_pool = move |pool: &ThreadPool| {
         pool.install(move || f(opts))