Date: September 20, 2012
Source: News Room
Discrepency in work related injuries between municipal and private sector The startling numbers were unveiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. They show an average of 4,017 public workers missed at least one day of work annually between 2008 and 2010. That compares with an annual average of 1,070 collection workers in the private sector, according to David F. Utterback, a senior health scientist at NIOSH. private sector: 70,950 in 2009 public sector: 50,010 in 2009 Utterback speculates that private sector employees underreport their problems while public sector are more likely to report and accident. public sector may be using older equipment that may be more inclided to fail and which may not include less labor-intensive automated systems. private secor may be more likely to offer job-specific safety training. Chris Marlowe, a safety and health manager for CDM Smith, a consulting firm that serves the industry, said The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also is more effective at reaching private companies than public entities, Marlowe said. ----------------- Fatality rate per 100,000 workers: 41.2 Median wage: $34,420 Sanitation workers brave more than foul odors and the occasional territorial neighborhood dog. They are constantly jumping on and off of busy streets, which put them at risk of getting hit by cars and trucks, said Harry Nespoli, head of the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association in New York City. Careless waste disposal is another issue. Volatile chemicals, acids and flammable materials can be inside garbage bags that are thrown in the hoppers of trucks and crushed. "These are things that aren't supposed to be put in normal collections," said Nespoli. "As the hopper cycles, the cans get crushed and can backfire right in your face." All told, 34 sanitation workers died last year, the Labor Department reported. -------- America’s Workplace A Lot Less Deadly NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The American workplace is getting a lot safer, with far fewer work-related deaths than there were just a decade ago. Last year, 4,609 people died as a result of a work-related accident, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report on workplace fatalities. That’s down 1.7% from 2010, when 4,690 people died on the job and 22% from the 5,915 who were killed in a work-related accident in 2001. In fact, workplace fatalities have been falling almost every year since 1994, when they totaled 6,632. The decline is, in part, due to a commitment by employers, industry organizations and workers to improve safety in the workplace. See America’s 10 most dangerous jobs “[Increasingly] employers value their workers. Not only is that the right thing to do, but it’s expensive to replace them,” said Brian O’Donel, an industrial safety expert who works with for Robson Forensic, which provides expert witnesses for civil litigation cases. The government has also helped. In recent years, rules and regulations put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have become more clear and concise, he said. The deadliest jobs: According to the Department of Labor’s report, the most common dangerous workplace activity is driving. Accidents on the road represented almost one-quarter of all work-related deaths. And more truckers, 759, died on the job than any other occupation. The Department of Transportation issued new rules last year aimed at improving trucker safety. The rules limit the amount of time truckers are on the road to eight before they must rest at least 30 minutes. They also can’t drive more than 70 hours in one week. Even though a comparatively smaller number of fishermen — 40 — lost their lives last year, it is still considered America’s most dangerous job. That’s because its fatality rate of more than 121 deaths per 100,000 workers is more than five times that of truckers. That’s an improvement over some years. In 2006, for example, the fishermen fatality rate was 142 per 100,000 workers. The fishing industry has focused on training crew members in safety skills, such as fire prevention, damage control and cold water survival, said Leslie Hughes, who founded the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association Vessel Safety Program. And changes to the fishing quota system, which gives boats more time to reach their quotas instead of scrambling to catch as many fish as they can, has helped to save lives, too. Violence in the workplace also claimed fewer lives, 788 last year, a 5% drop from 2010. Of that 788, there were 458 workers murdered. And one-third of workplace homicides were robbery related. More common, were deaths from disputes between workers or assaults by husbands and domestic partners. The bad news is that the death toll for 2011 will rise, said Peg Seminario, director of safety and health for the AFL-CIO. The Labor Department’s numbers are preliminary and more deaths will be attributed to work-related events as investigations are completed. As the economy recovers, and more people return to work, the death toll will likely increase further, she said. Some of those will be newcomers who lack experience and more vulnerable to injuries. “Constant vigilance is required,” she said. David Biderman, Safety Director for the NSWMA, said "We are concerned that the new federal data shows a reversal of the great progress that we have made over the last decade...we are working to better understatnd the root causes of the accidents in the BLS report...it's our initial understding that many of last year's collection worker fatlaitys occurred at small halers that don't necessarilly participate in NSWMA safety programs. ------------------- PRESS RELEASE September 20, 2012 NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2011 (PRELIMINARY RESULTS) A preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2011, down from a final count of 4,690 fatal work injuries in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2011 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, as compared to a final rate of 3.6 per 100,000 for 2010. Over the last 3 years, increases in the published counts based on additional information have averaged 166 fatalities per year or about 3 percent of the revised total. Final 2011 data from the CFOI program will be released in Spring 2013. Key preliminary findings of the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: -- Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined to 721 in 2011 from 774 in 2010, a decline of 7 percent and the fifth consecutive year of lower fatality counts. Fatal construction injuries are down nearly 42 percent since 2006. -- Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 780 fatalities, or about 17 percent of the fatal injuries in the workplace in 2011. Included in this count are 458 homicides and 242 suicides. (See note in box below about recent changes to the classification system for case characteristics.) -- Work-related fatalities in the private mining industry (which includes oil and gas extraction) were down 10 percent in 2011 after an increase of 74 percent in 2010. Coal mining fatalities fell to 17 in 2011 from 43 in 2010. -- Fatal work injuries in private truck transportation rose 14 percent in 2011-the second consecutive year that counts have risen in this sector after reaching a series low in 2009. -- Fatal work injuries increased among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers and among Hispanic or Latino workers in 2011, but declined among non-Hispanic white workers (down 3 percent). -- Fatal work injuries involving workers 55 years of age and older as well as workers under the age of 18 were both lower in 2011, but fatal work injuries among workers in the 20 to 24 age group were up nearly 18 percent. Changes to the OIICS Structure -- Information in this release incorporates a major revision in the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS), which is used to describe the characteristics of fatal work injuries. Because of the extensive revisions, data for the OIICS case characteristics for reference year 2011 represent a break in series with data for prior years. More information on OIICS can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm. Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by worker characteristics The number of fatal work injuries involving non-Hispanic white workers declined 3 percent in 2011, but were higher for black or African-American workers. For black workers, this increase follows three years of declining numbers of fatal injuries. Fatal work injuries among Hispanic or Latino workers rose to 729 in 2011 from 707 in 2010, an increase of 3 percent. The higher count in 2011 was the first increase in fatal injuries for Hispanic or Latino workers since 2006. Of the 729 fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers, 500 (or 69 percent) involved foreign-born workers. Overall, there were 823 fatal work injuries involving foreign-born workers in 2011, of which the greatest share (338 or 41 percent) were born in Mexico. Fatal work injuries were higher for workers 20 to 24 years of age, rising to 288 in 2011 from 245 in 2010, an increase of 18 percent. For workers 55 years of age or older and workers under the age of 18, fatal work injuries were down. Fatal work injuries involving women increased slightly in 2011 to 375, but declined by 2 percent for men to 4,234 in 2011 from 4,322 in 2010. Fatal injuries to both wage and salary workers and self-employed workers declined slightly in 2011. For more detailed information on fatal injuries by demographic characteristics, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Profile of 2011 fatal work injuries by type of incident Transportation incidents accounted for more than 2 out of every 5 fatal work injuries in 2011. (See chart 1.) Of the 1,898 transportation-related incidents, about 57 percent (1,075 cases) were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles. Nonroadway incidents, such as a tractor overturn in a farm field, accounted for another 11 percent of the transportation-related fatal injuries. About 16 percent of fatal transportation incidents in 2011 involved pedestrians who were struck by vehicles. Of the 312 fatal work injuries involving pedestrians struck by vehicles, 61 occurred in work zones. Workers who were fatally injured in aircraft incidents in 2011 accounted for 146 fatalities or about 8 percent of the transportation total. Overall, 780 workers were killed as a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals, including 458 homicides and 242 suicides. Shootings were the most frequent manner of death in both homicides (78 percent) and suicides (45 percent). Another 37 deaths were due to animal- or insect-related incidents. Of the 375 fatal work injuries involving female workers overall, 21 percent involved homicides. In nearly 2 out of every 5 homicides to female workers, the assailants were relatives, with almost all of the relatives being spouses or domestic partners (current and former). Robbers were the assailants in another 22 percent of these fatalities. For male workers, homicides accounted for approximately 9 percent of all fatal injuries. In contrast to female workers, relatives accounted for only about 2 percent of assailants. Robbers were the assailants in over one third of the homicide cases involving male workers. Fatal falls, slips, or trips took the lives of 666 workers in 2011, or about 14 percent of all fatal work injuries. Falls to lower level accounted for 541 of those fatalities. The revised Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) added the capability of recording the height of the fall. In 2011, the height of the fall was reported in 451 of the 541 fatal falls from higher level. Of those 451 cases, about one in four (115) occurred after a fall of 10 feet or less. Another fourth (118) occurred from a fall of over 30 feet. A total of 472 workers were fatally injured after being struck by objects or equipment, including 219 workers who were struck by falling objects or equipment and 192 who were struck by powered vehicles or mobile equipment not in normal operation. There were 152 multiple-fatality incidents in 2011 (incidents in which more than one worker was killed) in which 354 workers died. For more detailed information on fatal injuries by incident, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by industry sector The number of fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 7 percent in 2011. Fatal work injuries in construction have declined every year since 2006 and are down nearly 42 percent over that time. Economic conditions may explain much of this decline. Despite the lower fatal injury total, construction accounted for the second most fatal work injuries of any industry sector in 2011 with transportation and warehousing having the most fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Private sector mining fatalities were down 10 percent to 154 in 2011 from 172 in 2010 after rising 74 percent in 2010. Fatal work injuries were down sharply in coal mining to 17 in 2011 from 43 in 2010; the Upper Big Branch mining disaster in 2010 which killed 29 workers was a major factor in the high fatality counts in 2010. Fatal work injuries in support activities for mining were up 6 percent. Fatalities in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were down by 10 percent to 557 in 2011 from 621 in 2010, led by a sharp drop in crop production fatalities. Manufacturing fatalities were also slightly lower. Among service-providing industries in the private sector, fatal work injuries in transportation and warehousing accounted for 733 fatal work injuries in 2011, an increase of 11 percent over the final 2010 count (661 fatalities) and the highest count since 2008. The number of fatal injuries in truck transportation, the largest subsector within transportation and warehousing in terms of employment, increased by 14 percent in 2011, led by a 16 percent increase in general freight trucking and a 12 percent increase in specialized freight trucking. Among other transportation subsectors, fatal work injuries in air transportation were lower, but fatalities in water and rail transportation were higher in 2011. Fatal work injuries in the professional and business services sector were up 16 percent, led by an increase in fatalities in landscape services to 167 in 2011 from 133 in 2010. Fatal occupational injuries among government workers increased by 2 percent from 2010 to 495. Local government increased to 294 in 2011 from 269 in 2010 due to a 24 percent increase in police protection. Fatal work injuries were lower among both state and federal workers. In 2011, CFOI began collecting additional information on fatally-injured workers who were working as contractors at the time of their deaths. Preliminary 2011 data show that 492 of the 4,609 fatally-injured workers were classified as contractors at the time of their fatal injuries. (For more information on contractor definitions and other new data elements please see http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.) For more detailed information on fatal injuries by industry, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by occupation Fatal work injuries in construction and extraction occupations declined slightly in 2011 to 770--the lowest level since the occupational series began in 2003. Fatal injuries among construction trades workers also recorded a series low in 2011, falling 7 percent to 511 in 2011 and have declined 48 percent from the high reported in 2006. Fatal work injuries involving construction laborers, the worker subgroup accounting for the highest number of fatalities in the construction trades worker group, were down 6 percent in 2011 to 190 fatal work injuries. The number of fatal work injuries involving extraction workers was about the same as in 2010. Fatal work injuries in the building and grounds cleaning, and maintenance occupational group were up 14 percent to 265 fatalities in 2011--the highest level since 2006. The biggest increases within this occupational group were among landscaping and groundskeeping workers and among tree trimmers and pruners. Fatal work injuries involving farming, fishing, and forestry workers declined by 5 percent in 2011 after increasing in 2010. Fatalities involving agricultural workers, including farm workers and laborers, declined to 138 in 2011 from 161 in 2010. Fatalities among logging workers were higher in 2011, to 64 in 2011 from 60 in 2010, but fatal work injuries among fishers and related fishing workers were about the same as in 2010. The number of fatal work injuries among protective service occupations increased for the second straight year, rising to 278 in 2011 from 261 in 2010. The increase in 2011 was led by higher numbers of fatal injuries among security guards and first-line supervisors of police and detectives. Fatal work injuries involving workers in transportation and material moving occupations increased by 5 percent in 2011 to 1,213 fatalities, which is the highest level since 2008. Fatal work injuries in this occupational group accounted for about one quarter of all occupational fatalities. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers, the subgroup with the highest number of fatal work injuries within the transportation and material moving group, led the increase. Fatalities in this subgroup rose to 759 in 2011 from 718 in 2010, an increase of 6 percent. Fatal work injuries involving resident military personnel increased to 54 in 2011 from 46 in 2010. For more detailed information on fatal injuries by occupation, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Profile of fatal work injuries by state Twenty-three states reported higher numbers of fatal work injuries in 2011 than in 2010, while 25 states and the District of Columbia reported lower numbers. Two states reported the same number as in 2010. For more detailed state results, contact the individual state agency responsible for the collection of CFOI data in that state. Although data for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are not included in the national totals for this release, results for these jurisdictions are available. Participating agencies and their telephone numbers are listed in Table 6. Background of the program The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2011 data, over 20,000 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. Another OSHS program, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), presents frequency counts and incidence rates by industry and also by detailed case circumstances and worker characteristics for nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses for cases that result in days away from work. Incidence rates for 2011 by industry will be published in October 2012, and information on 2011 case circumstances and worker characteristics will be available in November 2012. For additional data, access the BLS Internet site: www.bls.gov/iif/. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin