Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by location of incident and event or exposure, 1995

1
Fatal Event or exposure’
to
Contact
Tranapor- | Assauks | with ner | res and
Number | Percent | Tota tation _jandviolem| objects | Falls bite
incidents? | acts? and stances,
equipment
s ments
a e210 | 1000 | 1000 a2 “7 10.4 98 as
Street OF highway .nnnnnonnnnrnne 1,808 201 | 1000 era ms 29 2 14 2
Industrial place or premise .. 1498 232 | 1000 158 64 309 237 142 89
Industria 189 3c | 1000 48 W4 402 132 153 153
0 8 | 1000 37s - 400 - = -
7 41 | 100.0 257 129 | 386 143 - -
8 12 | 1000 787 - 93 - 53 =
53 ‘2 | 1000 202 13 13 189 113 170
508 22 | 1000 114 14 262 423 173 ta
Industria place or premises, neo ~~. 436 70 | 100.0 78 103 342 167 164 15.8
Other specified place? neennewneewesnens 609 13.0 100.0 43.0 15.0 7S 137 22
Parking lt, garage (employer's premises) 108 18 | 100.0 158 183 64 64 37
Parking lt, garage 8 10 | 100.0 25.4 - 63 127 -
BVCE cee nenrennen 54 9 | 1000 484 - - - 444 =
S08 ener at 12 f too | 765 - 49 - 123 =
Public Bulg? -annvarnenernenrenesarene 989 18.9 100.0 a BS 40 9s 7A an
8 1 | 100.0 - 78 - - - -
5 3s | 1000 - 29 - 17.1 14 ~
17 29 | 1000 - 16 22 22 22 -
226 36 | 100.0 - 29.3 - 7A 22 -
402 16 | 1000 - 3 - 78 59 =
Shop, commercial store, (except grocery) —----| 249 40 | 1000 - 9 56 48 92 48
School (State, public, private) wwemeeewmesrenmne] 3B: 6 | 100.0 - 29 4 43 286 a
625 tor | 1000 408 ss | 246 70 107 24
58 2 | 1000 EG 103 MS 19.0 2A -
. 256 a1 | 100.0 27 16.0 - 66 -
Fart pond, creek, canal, tigation ditch 2 3 | woo 429 - - - S24 =
Private residence® navmeenesne| 257 44 100.0 43 26.4 14.0 2.8 265 88
‘Apartment 45 7 | 1000 - 487 - 2 200 -
a 15 | 1000 264 - 306 10 165 5S
Gravel, sand pit 12 2 | 1000 417 - 500 - ~ -
Mine men 8 | 1000 187 - 306 125 229 -
Place for recreation and Sport wvinnonnmonsnee| SY 8 | 100.0 235 235 167 - 25 -
‘sports center on employer's
PREMISES enceen rr 2 | 1000 - 6.7 - - - -
Recreational and sports areas a 5 | 100.0 387 129 129 - 104
Residential institution” a 3 100.0 - 381 - 19.0 - -
Unspecified place 120 19 | 1000 30.0 25 175, 10.0 167 -
+ Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and lines Classification 7 includes ‘3 home, v jail, nursing home, ang
Structures. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in reform school.

“Perera
Irchudes ghey, conhighnay, ak, watt, and ral tates
lence by persone, seit inh, and essa by animal,
‘areas such as bodies of water, woods,
nope win aa pe
5 Buildings and adjacent grounds used by the general public or a particular
group, such 86 hotels, restaurants, stores, offioe buidings, courthouses, and
schools.

© ‘These fatalities primarily occurred to repair or maintenance workers oF to
police while on duty.

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown
separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.

Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication
criteria,

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in

‘cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1995

Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997

64


Safety and Health

Perils in the
Workplace

BY CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES STAFF

Between 6,000 and 6,600 workers have been fatally in-
jured each year since 1992, according to the Census of Fa-
tal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).' The National Safety
Council (NSC) estimates that each fatal work injury, in
monetary terms, costs approximately $790,000. This fig-
ure includes lost wages, medical insurance, and adminis-
trative and indirect costs such as production downtime.
Furthermore, based on data from the Social Security Ad-
ministration published by NSC for 1993, a total of $42.9
billion was paid for all workers’ compensation claims (the
latest year for which data were available). These costs are
significant in both social terms and in lost productivity to
the business sector.

Safety and health professionals contend that fatal occu-
pational injuries are in large part preventable, and their
occurrence indicates a failure in preventive practices. In-
formation is available on who is fatally injured by industry
and occupation; the circumstances of the incident by event
and exposure; and equipment involved in these injuries.
These data can play an important role in raising employer
and worker awareness of potential hazards in the work-
place.

These data show that outdoor occupations like fishers
and timber cutters have the highest risk of fatal work inju-
ries; among industries, construction has the largest num-
ber of work-related fatalities; almost a third of the fatal in-
cidents occur on the streets and highways; and about 40
percent of incidents are transportation-related, including
highway, off-highway, air, water, and rail accidents. (See
table 1.)

This report describes the risk of incurring a fatal injury
on the job and typical ways in which workers are fatally
injured. This information can be used by employers, their
workers, and safety and health professionals to design and
implement safety programs for injury prevention.

‘This report was written by the CFOI staff. For more information on occu-
ational fatalities, access the Intemet site at http//stats.bls.gov/oshhome.htm
or send ¢-mail to CFOIstaff@bls.gov

61 Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997

‘Risk of a fatal work injury

In 1995, there were 126 million workers in the United
States. According to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, of these workers, 6,210 lost their lives? These
victims worked in virtually all industrial settings: Facto-
ties, farms; construction sites, and in a host of service re-
lated jobs. Some industries are more dangerous than oth-
ers, and a rate is often used to compare the risk of incurring
a fatal work injury for workers in various industries. In
1995, the overall rate of a fatal work injury was 5 fatalities
per 100,000 workers. Employees in services and finance,
insurance and real estate had the lowest risk of a fatal in-
jury at 2 fatalities per 100,000 workers, whereas workers in
mining had the highest risk at 25 per 100,000.

The risk of incurring a fatal work injury can also be
compared among occupation groups or other demographic
characteristics. For example, outdoor occupations such as
fisher, timber cutter, and airplane pilot are among the most
dangerous jobs with rates of around 100 fatalities per
100,000 workers. Yet, truckdrivers, who account for about
700 job-related fatalities each year (more than any other
single occupation), have a fatality rate of 26 per 100,000
workers. This example illustrates that it is important to
consider the number of fatalities, as well as rates, when
determining what jobs are dangerous and where to focus
prevention efforts.*

Industry profile of fatalities in 1995

The construction industry accounted for over 1,000 of
the total fatalities—more than any other industry —repre-
senting about 17 percent of total work fatalities. Construc-
tion fatalities primarily resulted from falls, electrocutions,
and vehicle-related incidents. Construction laborers as
opposed to other construction trades, were involved in about
30 percent of the construction industry fatalities.

Fatalities in transportation and public utilities claimed
almost as many lives—about 900 job-related fatalities or
approximately 14 percent of the total. These fatalities re-
sulted primarily from highway incidents.


Next in prevalence were the agriculture, forestry, and
fishing industries, together with about 800 fatalities. For
farm workers, almost one third of the fatalities involved
tractors; for timber cutters, two-thirds involved being struck
by fallen trees; and for fishers, drowning was the main peril.

Retail trade, manufacturing, and services accounted for
about 700 fatalities each. Homicide was the major threat
for workers in retail trade and service industries; contact
with objects and equipment, such as falling trees and pow-
ered machines, was the leading hazard for workers in manu-
facturing industries.

The remainder of the job-related fatalities were distrib-
uted in government (12 percent), wholesale trade (4 per-
cent), and finance, insurance, and real estate (2 percent).

How workers are fatally injured

Highway traffic incidents and homicides led all other
fatality events accounting for 21 and 16 percent, Tespec-
tively, of the total in 1995. (See chart 1.) Vehicle crashes
were the main highway hazards with about half involving
truckers, while robbery was the leading motive in job-re-
lated homicides, including taxicab drivers and cashiers.

Falls accounted for 10 percent of fatal work injuries in
1995. Falling from, or through roofs, accounted for one-
fifth of the falls. This was the leading cause of a job-re-
lated fatal injury for carpenters, roofers, structural metal
workers, and construction laborers.

Workers being struck by various objects, such as trees
and falling building materials, resulted in 9 percent of the
fatal injuries in 1995. About 80 timber cutters lost their
lives by being struck by falling trees.

Electrocutions claimed 6 percent of the fatally injured
workers, two-fifths of which resulted when workers or equip-
ment came in contact with overhead power lines.

More than half of the 117 electricians killed in 1995

. involved electrocutions.

A typical workday

Listed below are some hazards workers face each day,
followed by some less common job-related hazards.

On average, 17 workers are killed each day, on the job,
including:

* 3 workers killed in highway vehicle incidents:

* 2 of whom are killed in either a collision be-
tween vehicles or between a vehicle and a sta-
tionary object, such as a tree or telephone pole;

* the third is typically a driver whose vehicle has
jack-knifed or overturned.

* 2 to 3 workers are shot, at least 1 while tending a
retail establishment; 1 worker is stabbed, strangled,
or beaten to death;

* 2workers are killed from falls, typically from a
ladder, roof, or scaffold;

* 1 worker is killed in a vehicle incident occurring
off the public roadway, such as a farm tractor over
turning in the field, or a forklift overturning on
industrial premises;

* 1 worker is killed after being struck by a vehicle;

* I worker is killed in either an aircraft crash or
a water vehicle or railway accident;

* 1 worker is killed by being struck by a falling ob-
ject, such as a tree being cut down, a cinder block
falling from a construction scaffold, or a vehicle
falling off a jack during repair;

* 1 worker is electrocuted;

* 1 worker is killed in either a fire or explosion, from
drowning, or from inhaling a toxic substance;

* 1 worker commits suicide on the job or because of
a job-related incident; and

+ 1 worker is Killed by being caught in a machine or
caught under collapsing materials, such as in a
trench cave-in or engulfment in a grain bin.

A typical year
On average, each year about:
* 30workers die from heatstroke. Often these work-
ers are farmers and laborers;

* 30 workers die from carbon monoxide Poisoning.
Many are mechanics who repair vehicles in closed

structures;

* 15 workers are killed by lightning. Many are farm-
ers tending crops or livestock;

* 13 workers are killed by the accidental discharge
of a firearm;

° 12 farm workers are killed when gored or trampled
by bulls or other farm animals:

* 12 women are killed at work by their husbands or
ex-husbands;

* 10 workers are killed by exploding tires, typically
when inflating the tire;

Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997 62


‘* 10 workers are killed by methane gas emitted from
manure pits or from sewers. Usually these inci-
dents involve farmers or sanitation workers;

* 8 workers die after‘being burned by hot water or
steam while inspecting or cleaning machinery;

* 5 workers are killed when delivering packages by
bicycle;

¢ 4 workers are killed by debarking machinery5

Generally, these workers are killed trying to dis-
lodge logs that have jammed in the machine; and

* 4 workers die from allergic reaction to bee stings.
Workers include those in outdoor occupations, such
as horticulturists.

Thus, fatal occupational injuries are, to some extent,
predictable. But, because one does not know exactly when
a fatal injury will occur, workers must be ever vigilant of
potential life-threatening situations, take safety precautions,
and wear appropriate safety equipment.

—ENDNOTES—

' Data on fatal work injuries are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1995. This program, which has col-
lected occupational fatality data nationwide since 1992, uses diverse data
sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries. Information about
‘each workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equip-
ment being used, and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-refer-
encing source documents, such as death certificates, workers’ compensation
records, news accounts, and reports to Federal and State agencies. This method
assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For more informa-
tion on the CFOI program, access the World Wide Web (at stats.bls.gov/
oshfat! htm) or E-mail (cfoistaff @bls.gov).

?National Safety Council, Accidents Facts, 1996 Edition. p. 51.

* Toscano, Guy and Windau, Janice, “National Census of Fatal Occupa-
tional Injuries, 1995,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, September 1996, pp. 34-45.

“Toscano. Guy, “Dangerous Jobs,” Compensation and Working Condi-
tions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Surnmer 1997, pp. 57-60.

5 Debarking machinery is equipment used to remove the bark from cut
logs. In general, the process may involve either feeding the logs into arotat-
ing drum machine where friction removes the bark, or feeding the logs through
achipper or cuttes.

Chart 1: The manner in which workplace fatalities occurred, 1995

‘Transportation incidents
(n=2,560)

Worker struck
Dy vehiete

Assaults and violent acts |
(n=1,262)

Contact with objects
and equipment
+ (n=915)

Struck by
object

Falls
(n=643))

Exposures to harmful substances
and environments] Bectrociions | Omer
(n=598)

Fires and explosions and other) riresa
(n=232)]

Event or exposure
(Total fatalities = 6,210)

63 Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997