Late last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the preliminary National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2010 showing little change from 2009 final results.   A preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2010, as compared to s total of 4,551 fatal work injuries in 2009. The rate of fatal work injuries for U.S. workers in 2010 did not change from 2009, holding at 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. Based on historical reports, we can expect about a 3 percent rise in this preliminary total when the 2010 data is finalized in the spring of 2012.

Economic factors continue to play a role in the fatal work injury counts. Total hours worked were up slightly in 2010 in contrast to the declines recorded in both 2008 and 2009, but some historically high-risk industries continued to experience declines or slow growth in total hours worked.

Key preliminary findings of the 2010 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

• The number of fatal work injuries among the self-employed declined by 6 percent to 999 fatalities, more than the decline in their hours worked.
• The number of fatal injuries among wage and salary workers increased by 2 percent in 2010.
• Fatal work injuries in the private mining industry rose from 99 in 2009 to 172 in 2010, an increase of 74 percent. The fatal work injury rate for mining increased from 12.4 per 100,000 FTEs in 2009 to 19.9 per 100,000 in 2010. The multiple-fatality incidents at the Upper Big Branch Mine and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are included in these figures.
• Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 10 percent from 2009 to 2010 and are down nearly 40 percent since 2006.
• Work-related fatalities resulting from fires more than doubled from 53 in 2009 to 109 in 2010–the highest count since 2003.
• Workplace homicides declined 7 percent in 2010 to the lowest total ever recorded by the fatality census, but workplace homicides involving women increased by 13 percent.
• Fatal work injuries among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers declined by 9 percent in 2010 while fatalities among non-Hispanic white workers were higher by 2 percent. Fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers were down 4 percent in 2010.
• The number of fatal workplace injuries among police officers increased by 40 percent, from 96 in 2009 to 134 in 2010.

In addition, transportation incidents decreased slightly in 2010 relative to 2009, but still accounted for nearly 2 out of every 5 fatal work injuries in 2010. Non-highway incidents, such as an off-road tractor overturn, were higher in 2010 (up 4 percent) as were transportation incidents involving pedestrians and railways.

To see the entire news release, go to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.htm

In fiscal 2009, Federal OSHA conducted 797 fatality inspections, down from 936 the previous year. The year before that, the agency performed 1,043 fatality inspections; the year before that, 1,081; and the year before that, 1,114.

The percentage of violations issued as serious also has been rising over the last five years, increasing from 72 percent in 2005 to 77 percent in 2009.

In fiscal 2009, OSHA conducted 39,004 inspections, a 0.9 percent increase over the 38,667 inspections in 2008.

The agency also issued 87,663 citations in fiscal 2009, up 0.5 percent from the 87,210 citations the previous year.

The 2009 in-compliance rate was 25 percent, meaning 75 percent of the time OSHA inspectors found hazards and issued citations. In 2008 the rate was 23 percent.

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January 26th, 2010
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Labor made six datasets publicly available.  The datasets released include information from the OSHA, which will make it possible for anyone in the public to track injury statistics in the American workplace.  This is all part of the Federal Government’s “transparency” initiative.

Aside from the six datasets released yesterday, a few months ago OSHA made available a dataset to report weekly fatalities and catastrophes as reported by its area offices.

The OSHA dataset released yesterday by OSHA is the — Establishment Specific Injury and Illness Rates http://www.data.gov/details/1461     Also see on OSHA’s Web site at http://www.osha.gov/pls/odi/establishment_search.html

Each year, OSHA collects work-related injury and illness data from employers within specific industry and employment size specifications. This data collection is known as the OSHA Data Initiative or ODI. The data are used by OSHA to calculate establishment specific injury and illness incidence rates.  Then helps them target their inspection activities. Data from 1996 to 2007 are now searchable online.  So now you can search establishment’s reported injury and illness data.

Now I am not sure how this makes our Government more transparent but if you are the owner or senior leadership of the establishments listed, you just got more transparent. 

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OSHA announced today that over the last 16 months, compliance officers from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have made 104 visits to Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama companies where employees may be exposed to potential combustible dust hazards.

The result has been 667 citations for workplace safety and health violations; an average of 6.4 citations per visit. OSHA states that 87 percent of these citations were categorized as willful, serious, repeat or failure to abate.

The visits are part of the agency’s ongoing National Emphasis Program (NEP) to reduce employees’ exposure to combustible dust hazards. Nationally, 3,662 violations have been identified during 813 inspections, an average of 4.5 citations per visit. Housekeeping, hazard communication, personal protective equipment, electrical and general duty clause violations are cited most frequently as a result of these inspections.“Any company that has combustible dust, or thinks that they may have combustible dust, needs to intensify housekeeping, review hot work processes, evaluate electrical equipment for possible Class II locations, prohibit smoking or flames in dust laden areas, ensure that relief venting on dust collection systems releases the dust to a safe location, and develop and/or review an emergency action plan,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Cindy Coe.

The Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation report for 2007 is out and has recorded 112 occupational fatalities in the state of Kentucky.The following are significant findings of this annual report:

The 2007 Kentucky occupational fatality statistics are out and Kentucky’s fatality rate is 57% above the national rate (5.8 Kentucky worker deaths/100,000 workers compared to 3.7 US worker deaths/100,000 workers). 

Farming, Fishing, Forestry occupations had an alarming high fataility rate (177 deaths/100,000 workers in Kentucky compared to 25 deaths/per 100,000 nationally.

In 2004, work-related injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers averaged 7.4 in the truck transportation and warehousing industry, the most current information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.In comparison, for the entire private sector, the rate of injuries and illnesses was 4.8 per 100 full-time workers.

Transportation and material-moving occupations accounted for the largest number of fatal work injuries of any major occupational group — 1,490 fatalities, up from 1,393 in 2003.The fatality rate for this group rose from 16.7 fatalities per 100,000 in 2003 to 17.5 in 2004.   In addition, motor vehicle operators recorded two-thirds of the fatal work injuries, up 5 percent from 2003. Material-moving occupations, such as forklift operators, recorded the second-highest total of 271 fatalities, up 8 percent from 2003.

Workers in these industries primarily are at risk of injury from transportation incidents, overexertion, being caught in or struck by equipment, falls and assaults. Another common health hazard is the inhalation of vehicle emissions.These statistics demonstrate the need for transportation, distribution and warehousing operations to have a solid accident-prevention program in place.   

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