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Table 1. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
Table 2. Number and percent distribution of fatal work injuries
Table 3. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
Table 4. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
Table 5. Source documents used to compile information on fatal
Table 6. CFOI participating state agencies and telephone numbers
Technical information: USDL - 93 - 406
G. Toscano (202) 606-6175
Media contact: FOR RELEASE: 10 a.m. EDT
K. Hoyle (202) 606-5902 Friday, October 1, 1993
FIRST NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES
REPORTED BY BLS
About one-third of the 6,083 fatalities due to work injuries in 1992
resulted from highway accidents or homicides, each of which accounted for over
1,000 deaths. Falls and workers being struck by objects followed, leading to
nearly 600 workers' deaths apiece. These findings are from the first national
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor.
The BLS census uses multiple sources to identify, verify, and profile
fatal work injuries. Key information about each workplace fatality (occupation
and other worker characteristics, equipment being used, and circumstances of
the event) is obtained by cross-referencing the source records, for example,
death certificates, workers' compensation records, and reports to federal and
state agencies. Table 5 lists the data sources used in the BLS Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries.
1992 Census Profiles
The incidence of fatal work injury for certain groups of workers is
greater than their proportion of total employment. These groups include men;
the self employed; older workers (age 55 and over); those in farming and
transportation-related occupations; and those in agriculture, mining, and
construction industries. Major findings of the BLS census follow:
* Highway vehicle accidents led all other events, accounting for 18 percent
of the 6,083 fatal occupational injuries in 1992. (See table 1.)
* Homicides were a close second, accounting for 17 percent of the fatally
injured workers in 1992. Homicides were, by far, the most frequent
manner in which women workers were fatally injured.
* A large majority of the fatally injured workers were 25-54 years old.
Workers age 55 and over, however, had a higher risk of a fatal injury
than their 12 percent share of employment.
* Over nine-tenths of the fatally injured workers were men, well above
their 55 percent share of the nation's employment. (See table 2.) Men
are fatally injured more often than women workers primarily because of
differences in the industries and occupations where men and women
typically work.
* The self employed and those working in family businesses accounted for 20
percent of the workplace fatalities--double their share of the nation's
workers.
* Occupations with the largest number of worker fatalities included:
Operators of transportation equipment; farm workers; construction trades;
handlers, helpers, and laborers; and salesworkers. (See table 3.)
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* Among industry groups with the largest number of fatal work injuries were
agricultural crop production, special trades construction contractors
(for example, roofing and electrical work), trucking and warehousing, and
local government (for example, police and firefighters). (See table 4.)
Data on workplace fatalities by state are available from the state
agencies participating with BLS in the census program. Participating agencies
and their telephone numbers are listed in table 6 of this release.
Background of the program
The 1992 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the recently
redesigned BLS safety and health statistics program, provides a complete
count of fatal work injuries. The annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and
Illnesses, conducted since 1972, has been redesigned to generate worker and
case characteristics of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in addition
to frequency counts and incidence rates by industry. Initial results from
the 1992 survey will be released this December.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program is a federal/state
cooperative venture developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compile a
comprehensive, accurate, and timely measure of fatal work injuries that occur
during the year. The census approach to compiling data on fatal work injuries
was initially tested by BLS in a cooperative effort with the Texas Department
of Health during 1988. The study, which collected fatality data
retrospectively for 1986, showed that: (1) Multiple data sources, including,
at times, a followup questionnaire, are necessary to produce an accurate
count; (2) matching individual fatalities across data sources is feasible;
(3) for each incident, characteristics of the worker and the circumstances
are commonly available from administrative reports; and (4) timeliness is
important in maximizing response for verification purposes.
The census approach was tested again during 1990-91 to determine whether
the same kind of data could be obtained from multiple data sources on a current
basis. That study, which was conducted in cooperation with the Texas Workers'
Compensation Commission and the Colorado Department of Health, was successfully
concluded in May 1991.
Thirty-two states and New York City participated in the 1991 BLS census
program. The program was expanded to include all 50 states and the District of
Columbia during 1992. Funding for the annual census is shared equally between
BLS and the cooperating states.
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TECHNICAL NOTES
Methods
Data for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries are compiled from
various state and federal administrative sources--including death certificates,
workers' compensation reports and claims, reports to various regulatory
agencies, and medical examiner reports--as well as news reports. Multiple
sources are used because studies have shown that no single source captures all
on-the-job 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 followup questionnaire. Approximately 30 data
elements are collected, coded, and tabulated, including information about the
worker, the fatal incident, and the machinery or equipment involved.
Definitions
For a fatality to be considered within the scope of the program, 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 the criteria used by federal and state agencies
administering specific laws and regulations.
Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 1992 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 thermal, mechanical, electrical, chemical, or other form of energy
or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen caused by a specific
event or incident or series of events within a single workday or shift.
Included are open wounds, intracranial and internal injuries, heatstroke,
hypothermia, poisonings and asphyxiations resulting from a short-term exposure
(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 excluded from the BLS
census and the attached tables because of the latency period of many
occupational illnesses and the resulting difficulties associated with linking
illnesses to work. Partial information on fatal occupational illnesses,
compiled separately, is available to researchers upon request. A total of
1,361 illness cases were collected and coded in 1992. These cases were
primarily heart attacks that occurred at work.
Federal/state agency coverage
Several federal and state agencies have jurisdiction over workplace safety
and health. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and
affiliated agencies in states with approved safety programs cover the largest
portion of America's workers. However, accidents occurring in several other
industries, such as coal, metal and nonmetal mining, and transportation on
water, rails, or in the air, are excluded from OSHA coverage because they are
covered by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Railroad Administration, and
the Federal Aviation Administration. Fatalities occurring in industries
regulated by federal agencies other than OSHA accounted for about 11 percent of
the fatal work injuries for 1992.
- 4 -
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 20 percent of the
fatalities; laborers on small farms, accounting for about 5 percent of the
fatalities; and state and local government employees in states without OSHA-
approved safety programs, about 4 percent. (About one-half of the states have
approved OSHA safety programs which include state and local government
employees in their coverage.)
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work
injuries, whether they are covered by OSHA or other federal or state agencies
or are outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between
the BLS census counts and those released by other agencies should take into
account the different coverage and definitions being used.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: BLS thanks the participating states for their efforts in
implementing this new program and appreciates the efforts of all state and
federal 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 Department of
Justice (Bureau of Justice Assistance); the Mine Safety and Health
Administration; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; the Employment Standards
Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor
Workers' divisions); the Department of Energy; the state vital statistics
registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; the state departments of health,
labor, and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; the state highway
departments; and the state farm bureaus.
##############################################################################
PUBLIC USE DATABASE
A public use database will be available on diskette in February 1994.
Because the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are collected under a
pledge of confidentiality, all personal identifiers will be deleted from the
research file. The database will include about 30 data elements for each
workplace fatality (for example, demographics of the deceased, nature of the
injury), along with a short narrative on how the incident occurred. The
database diskette will be available at cost from BLS. To place an order for
the diskette, contact Cheong Underwood at 202-606-7789.
The national Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries database will not
identify the state where the fatality occurred. State-specific data on
workplace fatalities may be requested from state agencies participating with
BLS in the census program. (See table 6.)
DEVELOPMENTAL FATALITY RATES
On a developmental basis, fatality counts from the BLS census were
combined with information on employment to estimate how frequently groups of
workers sustain fatal work injuries. The results of this work, along with
information about their interpretation and limitations, will be published in
a future issue of the BLS Monthly Labor Review. For additional information,
contact the Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions at 202-606-6175.
Table 1. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
injuries by event or exposure, 1992
------------------------------------------------------------
Fatalities
Event or exposure1 Number Percent
------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 6,083 100
Transportation accidents............ 2,441 40
Highway accidents................. 1,121 18
Collisions between vehicles,
mobile equipment............... 553 9
Noncollision accidents.......... 292 5
Nonhighway accidents (farm,
industrial premises)............. 436 7
Aircraft accidents................ 350 6
Workers struck by vehicle......... 342 6
Water vehicle accidents........... 110 2
Railway accidents................. 66 1
Assaults and violent acts........... 1,216 20
Homicides......................... 1,004 17
Shooting........................ 822 14
Stabbing........................ 82 1
Self-inflicted injury............. 183 3
Contacts with objects and equipment. 1,001 16
Struck by object.................. 558 9
Struck by falling object........ 360 6
Struck by flying object......... 79 1
Caught in or compressed
by equipment or objects.......... 312 5
Caught in or crushed in
collapsing materials............. 110 2
Falls............................... 590 10
Fall to lower level............... 500 8
Fall on same level................ 60 1
Exposures to harmful substances or
environments....................... 593 10
Contact with electric current..... 334 5
Exposure to caustic, noxious,
or allergenic substances......... 118 2
Oxygen deficiency................. 109 2
Drowning, submersion............ 76 1
Fires and explosions................ 167 3
Other events and exposures2........ 75 1
------------------------------------------------------------
1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness
Classification Structures.
2 Primarily includes the category "Bodily reaction and
exertion."
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not
shown separately. Percentages may not add to total due to
rounding.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with
federal and state agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1992
Table 2. Number and percent distribution of fatal work injuries
by selected worker characteristics, 1992
----------------------------------------------------
Fatalities
Characteristic Number Percent
----------------------------------------------------
Total fatalities............. 6,083 100
Employment status
Wage and salary workers........ 4,876 80
Self-employed1................. 1,207 20
Sex and age
Men............................ 5,657 93
Women.......................... 426 7
Both sexes:
Under 20 years................ 169 3
20 to 24 years................ 528 9
25 to 34 years................ 1,521 25
35 to 44 years................ 1,511 25
45 to 54 years................ 1,143 19
55 to 64 years................ 751 12
65 years and over............. 460 8
Race
White.......................... 5,069 83
Black.......................... 608 10
Asian or Pacific Islander...... 166 3
Other.......................... 240 4
Hispanic origin
Hispanic2...................... 508 8
------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes paid and unpaid family workers and may include
owners of incorporated businesses, or members of partnerships.
2 Persons identified as Hispanic may be of any race.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with
federal and state agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1992
Table 3. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
injuries by occupation, 1992
------------------------------------------------------------
Fatalities
Occupation1 Number Percent
------------------------------------------------------------
Total fatalities......................... 6,083 100
Managerial and professional specialty...... 694 11
Executive, administrative,
and managerial.......................... 437 7
Professional specialty................... 257 4
Technical, sales, and administrative
support................................... 814 13
Technicians and related support.......... 199 3
Sales occupations........................ 497 8
Administrative support
occupations, including clerical......... 118 2
Service occupations........................ 526 9
Protective service....................... 273 4
Farming, forestry, and fishing............. 931 15
Farming occupations...................... 680 11
Forestry and logging occupations......... 155 3
Precision production, craft, and repair.... 1,054 17
Mechanics and repairers.................. 269 4
Construction trades...................... 578 10
Supervisors............................ 88 1
Carpenters............................. 86 1
Electricians........................... 83 1
Operators, fabricators, and laborers....... 1,882 31
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors.......................... 223 4
Transportation and material
moving occupations...................... 1,100 18
Motor vehicle operators................ 856 14
Truck drivers........................ 685 11
Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs....... 106 2
Material moving equipment operators.... 163 3
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers................... 559 9
Construction laborers.................. 226 4
Other laborers......................... 170 3
Military occupations (Resident Armed Forces) 1542 3
------------------------------------------------------------
1 Based on the 1990 Census of Population Occupational
Classification System.
2 Includes 16 workers not reported as active duty military, but
reported as working in a military occupation.
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 occupational
classification.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with
federal and state agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1992
Table 4. Number and percent distribution of fatal occupational
injuries by industry, 1992
------------------------------------------------------------
| Fatalities
SIC code1 | Industry Number Percent
------------------------------------------------------------
| Total fatalities.................. 6,083 100
| Private industry................... 5,384 89
01-02,07-09| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing.... 800 13
01 | Agricultural production--crops...... 401 7
02 | Agricultural production--livestock.. 164 3
07 | Agricultural services............... 136 2
10-14 | Mining................................ 182 3
12 | Coal mining......................... 60 1
13 | Oil and gas extraction.............. 83 1
15-17 | Construction.......................... 903 15
15 | General building contractors........ 169 3
16 | Heavy construction, except building. 240 4
17 | Special trades contractors.......... 494 8
20-39 | Manufacturing......................... 751 12
20 | Food and kindred products........... 93 2
24 | Lumber and wood products............ 220 4
40-42,44-49| Transportation and public utilities... 884 15
41 | Local and interurban transit........ 124 2
42 | Trucking and warehousing............ 443 7
45 | Air transportation.................. 93 2
49 | Public utilities.................... 86 1
50,51 | Wholesale trade....................... 244 4
52-59 | Retail trade.......................... 710 12
54 | Food stores......................... 205 3
55 | Auto dealers and gas stations....... 108 2
58 | Eating and drinking places.......... 187 3
60-67 | Finance, insurance, and real estate... 118 2
70-89 | Services.............................. 725 12
73 | Detective, guard, and other
| business services.................. 200 3
75 | Auto repair, services, and parking.. 73 1
91-97 | Government2........................ 699 11
| Federal............................... 241 4
| State................................. 112 2
| Local................................. 338 6
------------------------------------------------------------
1 From Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 edition.
2 Also includes workers employed by governmental organizations in
other SICs. There were 8 fatalities to workers employed by
foreign or regional governmental agencies.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not
shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of
rounding. There were 67 fatalities for which there was insufficient
information to determine a major industry classification within
private industry.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with federal and
state agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992
Table 5. Source documents used to compile information on fatal
work injuries, 1992
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fatalities
Source document Number1 Percent
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total........................ 6,083 100
Death certificates1............. 5,633 93
State workers' compensation
reports........................ 2,434 40
Coroner, medical examiner,
and autopsy reports............ 3,768 61
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) reports2.. 1,926 32
News media...................... 2,077 34
Followup questionnaires3........ 1,504 25
State motor vehicle reports..... 485 8
Other federal reports4.......... 328 5
Other reports5.................. 2,033 33
-----------------------------------------------------------
1 The total of source documents (20,188) exceeds the total of
verified cases (6,083) because two or more source documents were
used to substantiate each case. Note that some source documents
were received only upon request. In general, these included
autopsy, coroner, and medical examiner reports; followup
questionnaires; and state motor vehicle reports.
The number of death certificates shown includes some death
certificates initially not marked "at work." Seventy-five
percent of the death certificates that the states initially
received were marked "at work."
2 This figure is not a comprehensive count of fatalities
reported to or investigated by OSHA, but represents the available
OSHA reports used to identify or substantiate a work injury
fatality in the CFOI program.
3 Includes telephone followup for missing data and for
clarification of inconsistent data.
4 Includes reports received from the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, the Employment Standards Administration, the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Fatal
Accident Circumstances and Epidemiology program, the Department
of Justice, the Department of Energy, and the National
Transportation Safety Board.
5 Includes reports received from other organizations, such as
state farm bureaus, local police departments, and emergency
medical services.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with
federal and state agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1992
Table 6. CFOI participating state agencies and telephone numbers
STATE AGENCY TELEPHONE #
Alabama Department of Labor (205) 242-3460
Alaska Department of Labor (907) 465-4520
Arizona Industrial Commission (602) 542-3739
Arkansas Department of Labor (501) 682-4542
California Department of Industrial Relations (415) 703-5661
Colorado Department of Health (303) 692-2164
Connecticut Labor Department (203) 566-4380
Delaware Department of Labor (302) 577-2889
District of Columbia Commission of Public Health (202) 727-0682
Florida Department of Labor & Emp. & Security (904) 922-8953
Georgia Department of Labor (404) 656-3032
Hawaii Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations (808) 586-9005
Idaho Industrial Commission (208) 334-6050
Illinois Department of Public Health (217) 785-1873
Indiana Department of Labor (317) 232-2682
Iowa Department of Employment Services (515) 281-5151
Kansas Department of Health and Environment (913) 296-5641
Kentucky Labor Cabinet (502) 564-2454
Louisiana Department of Employment and Training (504) 342-3126
Maine Bureau of Labor Standards (207) 624-6442
Maryland Division of Labor and Industry (410) 333-4202
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (617) 727-2735
Michigan Department of Labor (517) 322-1851
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (612) 297-7428
Mississippi Department of Health (601) 960-7741
Missouri Bureau of Health Statistics (314) 751-6274
Montana Department of Labor and Industry (800) 541-3904
Nebraska Workers' Compensation (402) 471-3513
Nevada Div. of Occupational Safety and Health (702) 687-5240
New Hampshire Department of Public Health (603) 271-4651
New Jersey Department of Health (609) 984-1863
New Mexico Health and Environment Department (505) 827-2850
New York Department of Health (518) 458-6228
New York City Department of Health (212) 788-4585
North Carolina Department of Labor (919) 733-2355
North Dakota Workers' Compensation Bureau (701) 224-3893
Ohio Department of Health (614) 466-4183
Oklahoma Department of Labor (405) 528-1500
Oregon Department of Insurance and Finance (503) 378-8254
Pennsylvania Department of Health (717) 783-2548
Rhode Island Department of Health (401) 277-2812
South Carolina Department of Labor (803) 734-9613
South Dakota Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 426-2483
Tennessee Department of Labor (615) 741-1991
Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (512) 448-7978
Utah Industrial Commission (801) 530-6823
Vermont Department of Labor and Industry (802) 828-2765
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (804) 786-6427
Washington Department of Labor and Industries (206) 956-5509
West Virginia Department of Labor (304) 558-7890
Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Division (608) 266-7850
Wyoming Department of Employment (307) 777-5962