CF NR 8/4/99 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1998 Technical information: (202) 606-6175 USDL 99 - 208 Media information: (202) 606-5902 FOR RELEASE: 10 a.m. EDT Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/oshhome.htm Wednesday, August 4, 1999 NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES, 1998 The number of fatal work injuries fell to 6,026 during 1998, about 3 percent below the previous year and the lowest count since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, began in 1992. An 18 percent drop in job-related homicides accounted for a large portion of the decline. (See table 1.) Deaths from workers being struck by falling objects or caught in running machinery also fell from their 1997 totals. In contrast, worker deaths from highway crashes, from being struck by vehicles, and from contacts with overhead powerlines were at their highest levels during the 7-year period. The construction industry reported the largest number of fatal work injuries of any industry and accounted for nearly one-fifth of the fatality total in 1998. Profiles of 1998 fatal work injuries Highway crashes continued as the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities during 1998, accounting for 24 percent of the fatal work injury total. (See table 1.) The number of these fatalities increased slightly over their 1997 total to reach the highest level since the BLS fatality census began in 1992. This rise resulted mainly from an increase in the number of workers killed in highway crashes between oncoming vehicles. Slightly over two-fifths of the 1,431 victims of job-related highway fatalities were employed as truck drivers. The number of workers fatally struck by vehicles rose to 413, an increase of 13 percent from their 1997 total and the highest number in the 7-year period that the fatality census has been compiled. The accompanying table presents these fatalities for selected industries in 1998. In contrast to job-related fatalities, total highway and pedestrian fatalities dropped in 1998 from 1997, according to preliminary figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Industry Number Percent Total job-related fatalities, "struck by vehicles" 413 100 Private sector 348 84 Construction 103 25 Highway and street construction 45 11 Transportation and public utilities 81 20 Trucking and warehousing 56 14 Services 51 12 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 48 12 Manufacturing 31 8 Retail trade 23 6 Public sector 65 16 Highway and street construction 17 4 Police protection 13 3 The second leading cause of on-the-job deaths, workplace homicides, fell to its lowest level in the past 7 years. A total of 709 workers died as a result of job-related homicide in 1998 compared with 1,080 in 1994, which had the highest count in the 7-year period. The drop in homicide at work was most pronounced in retail trade, where homicides fell by 46 percent from 1994. The following table shows counts of workplace homicides for selected industries during 1994-98. Industry 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total homicides 1,080 1,036 927 860 709 Retail trade 530 422 437 395 286 Grocery stores 196 152 146 141 95 Eating and drinking places 135 121 135 109 69 Gasoline service stations 41 36 23 34 24 Taxicab 87 68 50 74 48 Detective and armored car services 49 27 29 21 18 Police protection 65 61 45 61 50 Robbery continued to be the primary motive of job-related homicides in retail trade when a motive could be ascertained from the source documents. The 18 percent drop in workplace homicides from 1997 was more pronounced than the 8 percent decline in total homicides that was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1998, deaths resulting from on-the-job falls totaled 702, nearly the same as the worker homicide total. Modest increases in falls from roofs and scaffolds resulted in 7-year highs for these two totals. Most of the worker deaths resulting from falls from roofs and scaffolds occurred in the construction industry, which accounts for about half the fatal workplace falls each year. Electrocutions accounted for 6 percent of the fatal injuries and increased by 12 percent from 1997. Contact with overhead power lines accounted for about half the deaths from electrocution. In fatal event categories that increased from 1997 to 1998, much of the increases occurred in the construction industry. The following table lists the major fatal events in the construction industry during 1997 and 1998. Event 1997 1998 Number Number Percent -------------------------------- ------- --------------- Total construction fatalities (private sector) 1,107 1,171 100 Falls 377 383 33 From roofs 129 123 11 From scaffolds 63 84 7 From ladders 63 54 5 From building girders or other structural steel 38 39 3 Electrocutions 140 171 15 Highway crashes 125 147 13 Worker struck by vehicle 86 103 9 Struck by falling objects 65 67 6 Trench cave-ins 26 36 3 Collapsing structures 28 28 2 On average, about 17 workers were fatally injured each day during 1998. Eighty-four percent of fatally injured workers died the day they were injured; 97 percent died within 30 days. There were 227 multiple-fatality incidents (incidents that resulted in two or more worker deaths), resulting in 555 job-related deaths. This was a slight increase over the number of multiple-fatality events reported for 1997, when 220 incidents resulted in 544 deaths. Unlike some previous years, there was no single event such as an airline crash or explosion with more than a dozen fatalities in 1998. Occupation highlights (see table 2): * Occupations with large numbers of fatal injuries included truck drivers, construction trades, farm occupations, and sales occupations. * Fatal injuries to truck drivers were at their highest level in the 7-year period. In contrast, the number of fatalities in sales occupations fell to its lowest level during the same period, primarily because of the drop in homicides. (For more information on fatalities for selected occupations, see BLS Report 934, Fatal Workplace Injuries in 1997: A Collection of Data and Analysis.) Relative risk (see tables 3 and 4): A comparison of percent distributions of fatalities and employment can be used to evaluate the relative risk of a job-related fatality for a given industry or worker characteristic. For example, the construction industry accounted for 19 percent of the fatality total, 3 times its 6-percent share of total employment. While employment can be used to evaluate the relative risk of a fatal work injury, other measures, such as employee exposure hours, also can be used. Industry highlights (see table 3): * Industry divisions with large numbers of fatalities relative to their employment include agriculture, forestry, and fishing; construction; transportation and public utilities; and mining. * The number of fatal work injuries in retail trade dropped 15 percent from 1997 totals, primarily due to a decline in workplace homicides. Demographic highlights (see table 4): * Men, the self-employed, and older workers suffered fatal injuries more often than their employment shares would suggest. Differences in the industries and occupations of these worker groups explain in part their high relative risk of fatal injury on the job. * Highway-related incidents were the leading cause of job-related fatalities among men; homicides were the leading cause of fatal injuries among women workers. * The majority of fatally injured workers under 17 years of age were killed while doing farm work; two-fifths of worker fatalities among 17-year olds occurred in the construction industry. State highlights (see table 5): * In general, the states with the largest number of persons employed have the largest number of work-related fatalities. Three of the largest states--California, Texas, and Florida--accounted for one-fourth of the total fatalities. Each state's industry mix, geographical features, age of population, and other characteristics of the workforce must be considered when evaluating state fatality profiles. * Job-related homicides in the New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan areas dropped by 69 and 54 percent, respectively, from their 7-year highs reported in 1993. These declines accounted for half of the national decline in job-related homicides from 1993 to 1998. Background of the program The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS safety and health statistics program, provides the most complete count of fatal work injuries available because it uses diverse state and federal data sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment being used, and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers' compensation records, and reports to federal and state agencies. This method assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. This is the seventh year that the fatality census has been conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The BLS fatality census is a federal/state cooperative venture in which costs are shared equally. Additional state-specific data are available from the participating state agencies listed in table 6. Another BLS program, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, profiles worker and case characteristics of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses that result in lost worktime and presents frequency counts and incidence rates by industry. Copies of the 1997 news release on nonfatal injuries and illnesses are available from BLS by calling (202) 606-6179. Incidence rates for 1998 by industry will be published in December 1999, and information on 1998 worker and case characteristics will be available in April 2000. For additional data, access the BLS World Wide Web Internet site: https://www.bls.gov/oshhome.htm. To request a copy of BLS Report 934, which includes several articles and highlights 1997 fatality data, e-mail your address to CFOIstaff@bls.gov or write to Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Room 3180, Washington, DC 20212. (Charts 1 and 2 appear here in the printed release.) Chart 1. The manner in which workplace fatalities occurred, 1998 Chart 2. Occupations with large numbers of worker fatalities and the leading event, 1998 Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1993-98 Event or exposure(1) Fatalities 1993-97 1997(2) 1998 average Number Number Percent Total 6,335 6,238 6,026 100 Transportation incidents 2,611 2,605 2,630 44 Highway 1,334 1,393 1,431 24 Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment 652 640 701 12 Moving in same direction 109 103 118 2 Moving in opposite directions, oncoming 234 230 271 4 Moving in intersection 132 142 142 2 Vehicle struck stationary object or equipment 249 282 306 5 Noncollision 360 387 373 6 Jackknifed or overturned-- no collision 267 298 300 5 Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises) 388 377 384 6 Overturned 214 216 216 4 Aircraft 315 261 223 4 Worker struck by a vehicle 373 367 413 7 Water vehicle 106 109 112 2 Railway 83 93 60 1 Assaults and violent acts 1,241 1,111 960 16 Homicides 995 860 709 12 Shooting 810 708 569 9 Stabbing 75 73 61 1 Other, including bombing 110 79 79 1 Self-inflicted injuries 215 216 223 4 Contact with objects and equipment 1,005 1,035 941 16 Struck by object 573 579 517 9 Struck by falling object 369 384 317 5 Struck by flying object 65 54 58 1 Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects 290 320 266 4 Caught in running equipment or machinery 153 189 129 2 Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials 124 118 140 2 Falls 668 716 702 12 Fall to lower level 591 653 623 10 Fall from ladder 94 116 111 2 Fall from roof 139 154 156 3 Fall from scaffold 83 87 97 2 Fall on same level 52 44 51 1 Exposure to harmful substances or environments 586 554 572 9 Contact with electric current 320 298 334 6 Contact with overhead powerlines 128 138 153 3 Contact with temperature extremes 43 40 46 1 Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances 120 123 104 2 Inhalation of substance 70 59 48 1 Oxygen deficiency 101 90 87 1 Drowning, submersion 80 72 75 1 Fires and explosions 199 196 205 3 Other events or exposures(3) 26 21 16 - 1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Structure. 2 The BLS news release issued Aug. 12,1998, reported a total of 6,218 fatal work injuries for calendar year 1997. Since then, an additional 20 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 1997 to 6,238. 3 Includes the category "Bodily reaction and exertion." NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993-98. Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and major event or exposure, 1998 Occupation(1) Fatalities Major event or exposure(2) (percent) Number Percent Highway3 Homicide Struck by object Fall to lower level -------------------- ----------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Total 6,026 100 24 12 9 10 Managerial and professional specialty 637 11 27 21 3 7 Executive, administrative and managerial 408 7 25 25 4 9 Professional specialty 229 4 31 13 2 4 Technical, sales, and administrative support 678 11 24 35 2 3 Technicians and related support occupations 68 3 20 3 - - Airplane pilots and navigators 91 2 - - - - Sales occupations 396 7 23 52 2 3 Supervisors and proprietors, sales occupations 185 3 11 63 2 5 Sales workers, retail and personal services 152 3 24 53 - 3 Cashiers 52 1 - 87 - - Administrative support occupations, including clerical 114 2 34 25 3 7 Service occupations 439 7 22 33 1 4 Protective service occupations 257 4 25 35 1 - Firefighting and fire prevention occupations, including supervisors 45 1 18 - - - Police and detectives, including supervisors 137 2 34 38 - - Guards, including supervisors 75 1 12 52 - - Farming, forestry, and fishing 921 15 11 2 18 6 Farming operators and managers 370 6 11 2 15 4 Farmers, except horticultural 277 5 9 1 16 3 Managers, farms, except horticultural 81 1 17 - 9 4 Other agricultural and related occupations 361 6 16 3 11 9 Farm workers, including supervisors 234 4 15 5 9 5 Forestry and logging occupations 118 2 3 - 60 5 Fishers, hunters, and trappers 72 1 - - - - Fishers, including vessel captains and officers 71 1 - - - - Precision production, craft, and repair 1,084 18 10 4 11 27 Mechanics and repairers 285 5 13 6 18 11 Construction trades 631 10 9 1 7 38 Carpenters and apprentices 90 1 4 - 12 59 Electricians and apprentices 124 2 7 - 8 15 Painters 41 1 15 - - 46 Roofers 50 1 6 - - 76 Structural metal workers 52 1 - - 10 81 Operators, fabricators, and laborers 2,151 36 36 6 9 9 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors 221 4 5 6 16 10 Transportation and material moving occupations 1,257 21 55 7 7 2 Motor vehicle operators 1,020 17 66 8 5 2 Truck drivers 879 15 69 3 6 2 Driver-sales workers 36 1 64 14 - - Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs 82 1 38 60 - - Material moving equipment operators 197 3 9 2 16 5 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 673 11 10 5 10 21 Construction laborers 335 6 11 - 6 31 Laborers, except construction 192 3 9 4 16 12 Military(4) 88 1 12 - 9 - 1 Based on the 1990 Occupational Classification System developed by the Bureau of the Census. 2 The figure shown is the percent of the total fatalities for that occupational group. 3 "Highway" includes deaths to vehicle occupants resulting from traffic incidents that occur on the public roadway, shoulder, or surrounding area. It excludes incidents occurring entirely off the roadway, such as in parking lots and on farms; incidents involving trains; and deaths to pedestrians or other nonpassengers. 4 Resident armed forces. NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. There were 28 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine an occupation classification. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1998. Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by industry, 1998 Fatalities Employment(2) (in thousands) Industry SIC code(1) 1997 1993-97 (revised) Number Percent Number Percent average Number ------------------------ -------- ------- ----------- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total.................. 6,335 6,238 6,026 100 132,684 100 Private industry....... 5,662 5,616 5,428 90 113,066 85 Agriculture, forestry and fishing................. 831 833 831 14 3,450 3 Agricultural production - crops............... 01 383 373 378 6 1,012 1 Agricultural production - livestock........... 02 178 183 174 3 1,092 1 Agricultural services.. 07 165 178 167 3 1,259 1 Mining................... 164 158 146 2 618 - Coal mining............ 12 39 32 30 - 82 - Oil and gas extraction. 13 88 85 76 1 373 - Construction............. 1,034 1,107 1,171 19 8,044 6 General building contractors........... 15 180 194 212 4 - - Heavy construction, except building....... 16 249 252 271 4 - - Special trades contractors........... 17 597 648 679 11 - - Manufacturing............ 747 744 694 12 20,665 16 Food and kindred products.............. 20 78 78 72 1 1,654 1 Lumber and wood products.............. 24 198 199 170 3 861 1 Transportation and public utilities............... 944 1,008 909 15 7,713 6 Local and interurban passenger transportation........ 41 109 106 85 1 552 - Trucking and warehousing........... 42 509 573 562 9 2,578 2 Transportation by air.. 45 91 83 74 1 832 1 Electric, gas, and sanitary services..... 49 86 89 83 1 1,060 1 Wholesale trade.......... 258 241 228 4 5,077 4 Retail trade............. 728 670 569 9 22,010 17 Food stores............ 54 205 192 135 2 3,602 3 Automotive dealers and service stations...... 55 120 115 119 2 2,221 2 Eating and drinking places................ 58 174 151 107 2 6,723 5 Finance, insurance, and real estate............. 114 97 92 2 8,399 6 Services................. 776 727 757 13 37,090 28 Business services...... 73 202 183 194 3 6,403 5 Automotive repair, services, and parking. 75 108 110 132 2 1,532 1 Government(3).......... 674 622 598 10 19,618 15 Federal government (including resident armed forces)........... 209 162 164 3 4,468 3 State government......... 129 125 135 2 5,160 4 Local government......... 329 331 295 5 9,990 8 Police protection.... 9221 101 114 101 2 - - 1 Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 Edition. 2 Employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the Current Population Survey, 1998. 3 Includes fatalities to workers employed by government organizations regardless of industry. NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. There were 31 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine a specific industry classification, though a distinction between private sector and government was made for each. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993-98. Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by selected worker characteristics, 1998 Fatalities Employment(1) (in thousands) Most frequent events(2) Characteristics (percent of total) Number Percent Number Percent Total.................. 6,026 100 132,684 100 Highway (24 percent), homicide (12 percent) Employee status Wage and salary workers .............. 4,782 79 122,240 92 Highway (26), homicide (11) Self-employed(3)......... 1,244 21 10,444 8 Nonhighway (16), highway (15) Sex Men...................... 5,544 92 71,744 54 Highway (23), fall to lower level (11) Women.................... 482 8 60,940 46 Homicide (34), highway (29) Age(4) under 16 years......... 33 1 - - Nonhighway (42), homicide (12) 16 to 17 years......... 32 1 2,764 2 Highway (28), fall to lower level (16) 18 to 19 years......... 136 2 4,383 3 Highway (29), electrocution (10) 20 to 24 years......... 418 7 12,923 10 Highway (25), fall to lower level (11) 25 to 34 years......... 1,233 20 31,850 24 Highway (23), homicide (14) 35 to 44 years......... 1,521 25 36,543 28 Highway (23), homicide (13) 45 to 54 years......... 1,271 21 27,623 21 Highway (26), fall to lower level (11) 55 to 64 years......... 835 14 12,873 10 Highway (26), fall to lower level (13) 65 and over............ 534 9 3,725 3 Highway (23), nonhighway (19) Race White.................... 5,016 83 111,863 84 Highway (24), fall to lower level (10) Black.................... 591 10 14,795 11 Highway (22), homicide (22) Asian or Pacific Islander 148 2 - - Homicide (46), fall to lower level (13) American Indian, Aleut, Eskimo.................. 28 - - - Highway (18) Other.................... 243 4 - - Highway (22), fall to lower level (17) Hispanic origin Hispanic(5).............. 700 12 13,381 10 Highway (19), fall to lower level (16) 1 Employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the Current Population Survey, 1998. 2 "Highway" includes deaths to vehicle occupants resulting from traffic incidents that occur on the public roadway, shoulder, or surrounding area. It excludes incidents occurring entirely off the roadway, such as in parking lots and on farms. "Nonhighway" includes transport-related deaths of vehicle occupants that occur or originate entirely off the roadway. Incidents involving trains and deaths to pedestrians or other nonpassengers are excluded from both categories. 3 Includes paid and unpaid family workers and may include owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. 4 There were 13 fatalities for which age was not reported. 5 Persons identified as Hispanic may be of any race. Hispanic employment does not include resident armed forces. NOTE: Totals may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1998. Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by State and event or exposure, 1998 Total Fatalities(1) Event or exposure (percent) Exposure State of injury Trans- Contact to portation Assaults with harmful Fires 1997 1998 in- and objects Falls sub- and (revised) cidents(3) violent and stances explosions acts(4) equipment or environments ---------------------- ------------------ ---------- -------- --------- ------- ---------- -------- Total(5)............... 6,238 6,026 44 16 16 12 9 3 Alabama.................. 139 135 49 13 16 5 13 3 Alaska................... 51 43 70 16 - 9 - - Arizona.................. 61 71 41 13 18 10 13 6 Arkansas................. 102 86 48 10 17 12 8 5 California............... 651 617 40 24 11 13 9 1 Colorado................. 120 77 49 12 19 13 5 - Connecticut.............. 32 55 35 29 5 16 13 - Delaware................. 17 11 45 - - - - - District of Columbia..... 23 13 - 46 23 - - - Florida.................. 366 384 42 22 9 15 11 2 Georgia.................. 242 195 41 17 16 15 8 3 Hawaii................... 19 12 58 - - 25 - - Idaho.................... 56 51 53 6 20 8 10 - Illinois................. 240 216 37 18 17 16 11 2 Indiana.................. 190 154 53 18 12 9 7 - Iowa..................... 80 68 50 - 21 13 9 4 Kansas................... 93 98 53 8 12 3 12 11 Kentucky................. 143 117 38 14 27 12 9 - Louisiana................ 137 159 45 13 13 7 12 11 Maine.................... 19 26 50 - 23 15 - - Maryland................. 82 78 50 21 6 9 10 4 Massachusetts............ 69 44 34 9 20 20 11 - Michigan................. 174 179 30 18 20 12 12 8 Minnesota................ 72 84 40 4 32 11 10 4 Mississippi.............. 104 113 50 14 13 9 9 4 Missouri................. 123 145 43 12 17 14 10 3 Montana.................. 56 58 50 22 7 14 5 - Nebraska................. 46 56 59 9 20 - 9 - Nevada................... 55 60 50 25 7 12 - 7 New Hampshire............ 23 23 43 22 17 13 - - New Jersey............... 101 103 43 14 19 14 8 3 New Mexico............... 50 48 40 15 15 6 12 10 New York (inc. N.Y.C.)... 264 243 32 22 15 17 8 6 New York City.......... 109 94 11 41 12 20 6 10 North Carolina........... 210 228 49 16 17 11 7 - North Dakota............. 35 24 42 - 46 - - - Ohio..................... 201 186 46 11 18 13 5 6 Oklahoma................. 104 75 49 9 17 9 11 - Oregon................... 84 72 54 8 24 7 7 - Pennsylvania............. 259 235 43 15 18 9 10 6 Rhode Island............. 11 12 50 - - - - - South Carolina........... 131 110 42 22 14 11 10 - South Dakota............. 23 28 54 - 32 - - - Tennessee................ 168 150 49 12 17 7 15 - Texas.................... 459 523 41 15 15 11 14 4 Utah..................... 66 67 57 - 12 15 9 4 Vermont.................. 9 16 38 - 25 - - 19 Virginia................. 166 176 43 23 15 13 6 - Washington............... 112 112 44 9 14 12 13 7 West Virginia............ 53 57 33 7 39 12 - 5 Wisconsin................ 114 97 51 18 20 6 5 - Wyoming.................. 29 33 73 - 9 - 9 - 1 Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in addition to those shown separately. 2 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Structure. 3 Includes highway, nonhighway, air, water, and rail fatalities and fatalities to workers struck by vehicles. 4 Includes violence by persons, self-inflicted injuries, and assaults by animals. 5 Includes fatalities that occurred outside the territorial boundaries of the 50 States. NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with State and Federal Agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1997-98. Table 6. CFOI participating State agencies and telephone numbers State Agency Telephone number Alabama Department of Labor (334) 242-3460 Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (907) 465-4539 Arizona Industrial Commission (602) 542-3739 Arkansas Department of Labor (501) 682-4542 California Department of Industrial Relations (415) 703-4757 Colorado Department of Public Health (303) 692-2168 Connecticut Labor Department (860) 566-4380 Delaware Department of Labor (302) 761-8223 District of Columbia Center for Health Statistics (202) 442-5922 Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security (850) 922-8953 Georgia Department of Labor (404) 656-2966 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (808) 586-9008 Idaho Industrial Commission (208) 334-6090 Illinois Department of Public Health (217) 785-1873 Indiana Department of Labor (317) 232-2665 Iowa Department of Labor Services (515) 281-5151 Kansas Department of Health and Environment (785) 296-1058 Kentucky Labor Cabinet (502) 564-3070 Louisiana Department of Labor (504) 342-3126 Maine Bureau of Labor Standards (207) 624-6440 Maryland Division of Labor and Industry (410) 767-2356 Massachusetts Department of Public Health (617) 624-5628 Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services (517) 322-5258 Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (651) 296-3885 Mississippi Department of Health (601) 576-7741 Missouri Bureau of Health Services Statistics (573) 751-6103 Montana Department of Labor and Industry (406) 444-3297 Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court (402) 471-3547 Nevada Division of Industrial Relations (775) 687-3298 New Hampshire Department of Public Health (603) 271-4647 New Jersey Department of Health (609) 984-7160 New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (505) 827-4230 New York Department of Health (518) 402-7900 New York City Department of Health (212) 788-4585 North Carolina Department of Labor (919) 733-0337 North Dakota Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 426-2483 Ohio Department of Health (614) 466-4183 Oklahoma Department of Labor (405) 528-1500 Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (503) 947-8254 Pennsylvania Department of Health (717) 783-2548 Rhode Island Department of Health (401) 277-2812 South Carolina Department of Labor (803) 734-4298 South Dakota Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 426-2483 Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (615) 741-1749 Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (512) 440-3852 Utah Labor Commission (801) 530-6823 Vermont Department of Labor and Industry (802) 828-2195 Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (804) 786-6427 Washington Department of Labor and Industries (360) 902-5510 West Virginia Department of Labor (304) 558-7890 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (608) 266-7850 Wyoming Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 426-2483 TECHNICAL NOTES Definitions For a fatality to be included in the census, the decedent must have been employed (that is working for pay, compensation, or profit) at the time of the event, engaged in a legal work activity, or present at the site of the incident as a requirement of his or her job. These criteria are generally broader than those used by federal and state agencies administering specific laws and regulations. (Fatalities that occur during a person's commute to or from work are excluded from the census counts.) Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 1998 that resulted from traumatic occupational injuries. An injury is defined as any intentional or unintentional wound or damage to the body resulting from acute exposure to energy, such as heat, electricity, or kinetic energy from a crash or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen caused by a specific event, incident, or series of events within a single workday or shift. Included are open wounds, intracranial and internal injuries, heatstroke, hypothermia, asphyxiations, acute poisonings resulting from short-term exposures limited to the worker's shift, suicides and homicides, and work injuries listed as underlying or contributory causes of death. Information on work-related fatal illnesses are not reported in the BLS census and are excluded from the attached tables because the latency period of many occupational illnesses and the difficulty of linking illnesses to work make identification of a universe problematic. Partial information on fatal occupational illnesses, compiled separately, is available in BLS Report 934. Measurement techniques and limitations Data for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries are compiled from various federal, state, and local administrative sources--including death certificates, workers' compensation reports and claims, reports to various regulatory agencies, medical examiner reports, and police reports--as well as news reports. Diverse sources are used because studies have shown that no single source captures all job-related fatalities. Source documents are matched so that each fatality is counted only once. To ensure that a fatality occurred while the decedent was at work, information is verified from two or more independent source documents or from a source document and a follow-up questionnaire. Approximately 30 data elements are collected, coded, and tabulated, including information about the worker, the fatal incident, and the machinery or equipment involved. Identification and verification of work-related fatalities. Because some state laws and regulations prohibit enumerators from contacting the next-of-kin, it was not possible to independently verify work relationship (whether a fatality is job related) for 177 fatal work injuries in 1998; however, the information on the initiating source document for these cases was sufficient to determine that the incident was likely to be job- related. Data for these fatalities, which primarily affected self-employed workers, are included in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries counts. An additional 18 fatalities submitted by states were not included because the initiating source document had insufficient information to determine work relationship, which could not be verified by either an independent source document or a follow-up questionnaire. States may identify additional fatal work injuries after data collection closeout for a reference year. In addition, other fatalities excluded from the published count because of insufficient information to determine work relationship may subsequently be verified as work related. States have up to one year to update their initial published state counts. This procedure ensures that fatality data are disseminated as quickly as possible and that no legitimate case is excluded from the counts. Thus, each year's report should be considered preliminary until the next year's data are issued. Increases in the published counts based on additional information have averaged less than 100 fatalities per year or less than 1.5 percent of the total. Federal/state agency coverage The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether they are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or are outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used. Several federal and state agencies have jurisdiction over workplace safety and health. OSHA and affiliated agencies in states with approved safety programs cover the largest portion of America's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, water, rail, and air transportation, are excluded from OSHA coverage because they are covered by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration and various agencies within the Department of Transportation. Fatalities occurring in activities regulated by federal agencies other than OSHA accounted for about 18 percent of the fatal work injuries in 1998. Fatalities occurring among several other groups of workers are generally not covered by any federal or state agencies. These groups include self-employed and unpaid family workers, which accounted for about 21 percent of the fatalities; laborers on small farms, accounting for about 2 percent of the fatalities; and state and local government employees in states without OSHA-approved safety programs, which accounted for about 4 percent. (Approximately one-half of the states have approved OSHA safety programs, which cover state and local government employees.) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: BLS thanks the participating states for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector agencies that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Employment Standards Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' divisions); the Department of Energy; the National Association of Chiefs of Police; United Steelworkers of America; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor, and industries and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.