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CF NR 8/12/98 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1997 Technical information: (202) 606-6175 USDL 98 - 336 Media information: FOR RELEASE: (202) 606-5902 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, August 12, 1998 Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/oshhome.htm NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES, 1997 The number of fatal work injuries that occurred during 1997 was 6,218, about the same as the previous year's total, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Decreases in deaths from job-related homicides and aircraft crashes in 1997 were offset by increases in work-related deaths from highway crashes, falls, and being caught in running equipment. (See table 1.) The construction industry reported the largest number of fatal work injuries and accounted for half of worker fatalities from falls. Taxicab drivers and police and detectives were among the occupations with the largest increases in fatalities over the previous year. Profiles of 1997 fatal work injuries In 1997, job-related highway fatalities reached their highest level since the BLS fatality census began in 1992. Increases in the number of workers killed in crashes with objects on the side of the road, jack-knifing tractor-trailer rigs, and overturning vehicles were largely responsible for the rise in highway fatalities over the 1996 total. The following table shows the major types of highway incidents in which workers were killed in 1997. Type of highway incident Number Percent Collision between vehicles 639 46 Moving in opposite directions 229 17 Moving in intersection 142 10 Moving in same direction 103 7 45 3 258 19 22 2 Noncollision incident 384 28 Jack-knifed or overturned 295 21 Ran off highway 48 3 Other type of incident 84 6 Moving and standing vehicle Vehicle struck object on side of road Vehicle struck object in roadway Highway crashes were the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities and accounted for 22 percent of the 1997 fatal work injury total. (See table 1) Ninety percent of workers killed in highway crashes were driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. Almost half of the highway fatality victims were employed as truckdrivers or in other jobs operating motor vehicles as a profession. The number of highway - 2 - fatalities among these occupations increased by about one-fifth over the 1996 total. Other victims worked in various fields in which highway travel is incidental to the primary work activities, including sales, farming, nursing and social work, police and firefighting, construction, and management. Twenty percent of the worker fatalities resulted from other types of transportation-related incidents, such as tractors and forklifts overturning in fields or in warehouses, workers being struck by vehicles, aircraft and railway crashes, and water vessels capsizing. Worker deaths from railway crashes, while relatively few in number, were at the highest level in the last six years. Most of these fatalities occurred when the vehicle the worker was driving or riding in was struck by a train at a railroad crossing. Because there were no major commercial airline crashes in 1997, worker deaths from aircraft crashes were at their lowest level in the last six years. Workplace homicides fell to their lowest level in the past six years, but continued as the second leading cause of job-related deaths. The 7 percent drop in workplace homicides from 1996 was consistent with a decline in homicides nationally during the period, as reported by the Department of Justice. Four-fifths of the workplace homicides resulted from shootings. Robbery continued to be the primary motive of job-related homicide when a motive could be ascertained from the source documents. Disputes among coworkers and with customers and clients accounted for about one-tenth of the total and declined by over one-third from the previous year. Circumstances or alleged perpetrator Number Percent Robberies and other crimes 731 85 Robberies 338 39 Work associates 81 9 Coworker, former coworker 56 7 Customer, client 25 3 Relatives 24 3 Husband, ex-husband 16 2 8 1 Other personal acquaintances 20 2 Boyfriend, ex-boyfriend 11 1 9 1 Other relative Other acquaintance Deaths resulting from on-the-job falls rose slightly over 1996 totals to their highest level in the six years data have been collected and accounted for 11 percent of the fatality total. About one-half of the falls occurred to workers in the construction industry. roofs, scaffolds, and ladders predominated. Falls from Services accounted for about one-tenth of the total. Nine percent of the worker fatalities occurred when workers were struck by objects, such as vehicles falling from jacks during repair, beams or other objects falling from cranes or forklifts, and trees falling while being cut down. Another 7 percent of the fatal work injuries resulted from workers being caught in running equipment, trench cave-ins, or collapsing structures. Workers fatally injured from being caught in running equipment, such as agricultural and manufacturing equipment, were at a six-year high. Electrocutions accounted for 5 percent of the fatal injuries, and fires and explosions accounted for 3 percent. Job-related electrocutions resulting from contact with overhead power lines increased by almost - 3 - one-fifth over the 1996 total, yet were consistent with counts reported for the previous five years. On average, about 17 workers were fatally injured each day during 1997. Eighty-four percent of fatally injured workers died the day they were injured; 97 percent died within 30 days. There were 220 multiple-fatality incidents (incidents that resulted in two or more worker deaths), resulting in 544 job-related deaths. This was an increase of 16 percent more multiple-fatality incidents than in 1996, when 189 events resulted in 546 fatal work injuries. Occupation highlights (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 six-year period, while the number of fatalities to workers in sales occupations fell to its lowest level in the six-year period. * Primarily as a result of increases in homicides and highway fatalities, on-the-job fatalities to police and detectives and taxicab drivers rose by about one-third after falling in 1996. * Commercial fishers experienced a 24 percent drop in fatal work injuries in 1997 over the 1996 total, yet this remains one of the most dangerous occupations. (For more information on fatalities to fishers, see "Fishing for a Living is Dangerous Work" in BLS Report 922, Fatal Workplace Injuries in 1996: A Collection of Data and Analysis.) Relative risk (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 occupation, industry, or worker characteristic. For example, the construction industry accounted for about 18 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. (The annual average employment data shown in tables 3 and 4 are from the Current Population Survey.) Industry highlights (table 3): * Construction and transportation and public utilities together accounted for about one-third of the fatal work injuries and reported increases over 1996 fatality totals consistent with increases in their employment totals. * Industry divisions with large numbers of fatalities relative to their employment include agriculture, forestry, and fishing; construction; transportation and public utilities; and mining. Demographic highlights (table 4): * Men, the self-employed, and older workers suffer 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. (For more information on relative risk among worker groups, see "Denominator Choice in the Calculation of Workplace Fatality Rates" in BLS Report 922.) - 4 - * The majority of fatally injured workers under 16 years of age were killed while doing farm work, often involving a farm vehicle. * Highway-related incidents were the leading events for job-related fatalities among both men and women in 1997. In prior years, homicides had been more frequent than highway deaths for women. State highlights (table 5): * In general, states that have the largest number of persons employed also reported the largest number of work-related fatalities. Twelve of the largest states accounted for almost half of the total fatality count; three of the states--California, Texas, and Florida--accounted for one-fourth of the total. A state's industry mix, however, also must be considered when evaluating its occupational fatality profile, especially when large numbers of workers are employed in relatively dangerous industries, such as agriculture, mining, and construction. (For more information on variations in state fatality counts, see "State and Industry Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-96" in BLS Report 922.) 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 sixth 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 1996 news release on nonfatal injuries and illnesses are available from BLS by calling (202) 606-6304. Incidence rates for 1997 by industry will be published in December 1998, and information on 1997 worker and case characteristics will be available in April 1999. For additional occupational safety and health data, access the BLS World Wide Web Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/oshhome.htm. To request a copy of BLS Report 922, e-mail your address to CFOIstaff@bls.gov or write to Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Room 3180, Washington, DC 20212. Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1992-97 Fatalities ------------------------------------ Event or exposure(1) 1992-96 average 1996(2) 1997 ------- ------- --------------- Number Number Percent Total.................... 6,331 6,202 6,218 100 Transportation incidents... 2,587 2,601 2,599 42 Highway.................. 1,287 1,346 1,387 22 640 667 639 10 104 96 103 2 228 220 229 4 125 153 142 2 equipment........... 231 243 280 5 Noncollision........... 343 352 384 6 Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment........... Moving in same direction......... Moving in opposite directions, oncoming.......... Moving in intersection...... Vehicle struck stationary object or Jack-knifed or overturned--no collision......... 250 266 295 5 industrial premises).. 400 374 377 6 Overturned............. 213 206 216 3 Aircraft................. 334 324 261 4 vehicle............... 369 353 367 6 Water vehicle............ 106 119 109 2 Railway.................. 78 74 93 1 Assaults and violent acts.. 1,275 1,165 1,103 18 Homicides................ 1,032 927 856 14 Shooting............... 839 761 705 11 Stabbing............... 78 80 73 1 bombing............. 115 86 78 1 Self-inflicted injury.... 213 204 212 3 equipment............... 998 1,010 1,034 17 Struck by object......... 568 582 578 9 object.............. 365 403 384 6 Struck by flying object 69 58 53 1 289 285 320 5 Nonhighway (farm, Worker struck by a Other, including Contact with objects and Struck by falling Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects............... Caught in running equipment or machinery........... 147 146 189 3 collapsing materials.. 122 131 118 2 Falls...................... 645 691 715 11 Fall to lower level...... 562 610 652 10 Fall from ladder....... 87 97 116 2 Fall from roof......... 130 149 154 2 staging............. 79 88 87 1 Fall on same level....... 56 52 44 1 596 533 550 9 327 281 297 5 128 116 138 2 42 33 40 1 substances............ 121 123 123 2 Inhalation of substance 75 76 59 1 Oxygen deficiency........ 105 95 87 1 Drowning, submersion... 81 70 70 1 Fires and explosions....... 193 185 196 3 Caught in or crushed in Fall from scaffold, Exposure to harmful substances or environments............ Contact with electric current............... Contact with overhead power lines......... Contact with temperature extremes.............. Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic Other events or exposures(3)............ 37 17 21 - 1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Structures. 3 The BLS news release issued August 7, 1997, reported a total of 6,112 fatal work injuries for calendar year 1996. Since then, an additional 90 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 1996 to 6,202. 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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-97. Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and major event or exposure, 1997 Major event or exposure (2) Fatalities ---------------- (percent) -------------------------------------Struck by Occupation(1) Total Percent Highway(3) Homicide object Fall to lower level Total.......... 6,218 100 22 14 9 10 Managerial and professional specialty..... 667 11 26 23 4 8 417 7 23 30 5 11 250 4 32 12 2 3 733 12 20 41 2 3 172 3 14 2 100 2 - - 458 7 19 59 2 3 223 4 10 67 2 4 Executive, administrative, and managerial. Professional specialty... Technical, sales, and administrative support....... Technicians and related support occupations. - 2 Airplane pilots and navigators - - Sales occupations. Supervisors and proprietors, sales occupations........ Sales workers, retail and personal services.. 182 3 19 63 2 Cashiers... 84 1 - 92 103 2 36 27 3 4 492 8 20 37 3 7 283 5 24 39 2 2 49 1 22 - 8 156 3 32 43 - 2 - Administrative support occupations, including clerical.... Service occupations... Protective service occupations. Firefighting and fire prevention occupations, including supervisors........ - Police and detectives, including supervisors........ - 4 Guards, including supervisors........ 78 1 8 55 - - 923 15 9 1 21 6 386 6 10 - 12 5 296 5 10 - 12 6 71 1 11 - 13 - 349 6 13 2 15 10 213 3 14 2 11 6 128 2 2 74 4 Farming, forestry, and fishing....... Farming operators and managers Farmers, except horticultural...... Managers, farms, except horitcultural...... Other agricultural and related occupations. Farm workers, including supervisors........ Forestry and logging occupations. - Timber cutting and logging occupations........ 110 2 60 1 58 3 - 75 3 - - 5 - 1 - - 5 - 1,094 18 10 3 12 26 325 5 13 6 18 13 593 10 8 2 6 39 98 2 13 4 11 43 Fishers, hunters, and trappers.... Fishers, including vessel captains and officers.. Precision production, craft, and repair........ Mechanics and repairers... Construction trades...... Carpenters and apprentices........ Electricians and apprentic- es........ 94 2 6 Painters..... 39 1 Roofers...... 55 1 45 1 - 2,161 35 34 7 9 9 221 4 6 5 17 10 1,271 20 52 9 7 3 1,026 17 63 11 4 2 857 14 68 3 5 3 44 1 66 25 - - 100 2 23 76 - - 5 - 4 17 - - 64 - - 75 - - 80 Structural metal workers... Operators, fabricators, and laborers.. Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.. Transportation and material moving occupations. Motor vehicle operators. Truck drivers. Driver-sales workers. Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs..... Material moving equipment operators. 169 3 8 2 20 5 669 11 9 5 11 20 333 5 9 11 30 ion....... 208 3 7 4 13 11 Military(4)...... 94 2 14 1 3 2 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... Construction laborers.. - Laborers, except construct- 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 51 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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-97. Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by industry, 1997 1992-96 Industry(1) 1996 Employment(2) average (revised) ------- --------- ------------------ -------------------- Number Number Percent Number Percent ------- --------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Total............. 6,331 6,202 6,218 100 130,810 100 Private industry.... 5,638 5,597 5,594 90 111,417 85 826 806 830 13 3,479 3 390 337 373 6 985 1 174 157 182 3 1,205 1 157 172 176 3 1,199 1 Number 1997 (in thousands) Agriculture, forestry and fishing Agricultural production crops.......... Agricultural production livestock...... Agricultural services....... Mining.............. 169 153 158 3 632 - Coal mining....... 45 39 32 1 84 - extraction..... 87 83 85 1 369 - Construction........ 996 1,047 1,107 18 7,844 6 176 184 194 3 - - 247 248 252 4 - - contractors.... 568 606 648 10 - - Manufacturing....... 751 725 743 12 20,765 16 81 73 78 1 1,697 1 204 204 199 3 817 1 922 970 1,002 16 7,594 6 113 79 106 2 551 - 484 520 569 9 2,560 2 93 115 83 1 822 1 Oil and gas General building contractors.... Heavy construction, except building Special trades Food and kindred products....... Lumber and wood products....... Transportation and public utilities. Local and interurban passenger transportation. Trucking and warehousing.... Transportation by air............ Electric, gas, and sanitary services....... 85 89 89 1 1,060 1 Wholesale trade..... 260 270 241 4 4,896 4 Retail trade........ 741 681 665 11 21,782 17 Food stores....... 209 180 189 3 3,643 3 120 98 115 2 2,217 2 182 166 150 2 6,581 5 and real estate.. 119 116 97 2 8,080 6 Services............ 782 776 722 12 36,346 28 Business services. 207 168 181 3 6,024 5 parking........ 102 104 109 2 1,623 1 Government(3)....... 693 605 624 10 19,393 15 forces)........ 228 184 162 3 4,461 3 State government.. 127 130 127 2 5,031 4 Automotive dealers and service stations....... Eating and drinking places Finance, insurance, Automotive repair, services, and Federal government (including resident armed Local government.. Police protection. 331 289 331 5 99 76 113 2 9,901 - 8 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987. 2 The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the Current Population Survey, 1997. 3 Includes fatalities to workers employed by governmental 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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-97. Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by selected worker characteristics, 1997 Characteristics Fatalities Employment (in thousands)(1) Total Number Percent Number ------ ------- ------- ------- 6,218 100 130,810 Percent 100 Most frequent events(2) (percent of total) ----------------------Highway (22 percent), homicide (14 percent) Employee status Wage and salary workers 4,959 80 120,126 92 Highway (24), homicide (13) Self-employed(3) 1,259 20 10,684 8 Homicide (18), highway (14) 5,743 92 70,769 54 Highway (21), homicide (12) 475 8 60,041 46 Highway (36), homicide (31) Under 16 years 21 - - - Nonhighway vehicle-related (38) 16 to 17 years 41 1 2,650 2 Highway (22), homicide (22) 18 to 19 years 113 2 4,102 3 Highway (16), struck by object (16) 20 to 24 years 503 8 12,758 10 " (23) 25 to 34 years 1,319 21 32,288 25 " (21) 35 to 44 years 1,520 24 36,174 28 " (20) 45 to 54 years 1,298 21 26,780 20 " (24) 55 to 64 years 870 14 12,297 9 " (25) 65 years and over 519 8 3,761 3 " (22) White 5,098 82 110,819 85 Highway (23) Black 676 11 14,211 11 HIghway (24) Asian or Pacific Islander 189 3 - - Homicide (46) 35 1 - - Fall to lower level (17) 220 4 - - Highway (18) Sex and age Men Women Both sexes(4) Race American Indian, Aleut, Eskimo Other or not reported Hispanic origin Hispanic(5) 656 11 12,813 10 Homicide (17) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the Current Population Survey, 1997. 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 14 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. may not add to totals because of rounding. Percentages 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. Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by State and event or exposure, 1997 Event or exposure(2) State of injury (percent of State total for 1997) Total Fatalities(1) 1996 or 1997 Trans- Assaults Contact Exposure portation and with objects to harmful incidents(3) violent and substances Fires and environments (revised) explosions ------------ ------ --------------- Total(5) acts(4) equipment Falls ------------ ------- ----------- ------- 6,202 6,218 42 18 17 11 9 Alabama - 155 139 50 19 17 6 7 Alaska - 63 51 65 12 12 - 8 Arizona - 77 58 36 26 14 12 9 Arkansas 5 88 102 47 15 19 5 10 641 636 36 26 12 13 8 Colorado - 90 120 48 14 15 15 6 Connecticut - 35 32 47 - 16 22 - Delaware - 18 17 53 - - - - District of Columbia 19 - 23 - 52 - 22 - 3 California 3 Florida 3 333 366 39 22 12 13 10 Georgia 2 213 241 43 16 17 12 10 Hawaii - 27 19 37 - - - 21 Idaho - 62 56 45 9 34 - - Illinois 2 262 240 39 21 14 15 8 Indiana 4 143 190 42 19 17 11 6 Iowa - 70 80 44 5 22 14 11 Kansas 4 85 93 61 5 16 11 - Kentucky - 141 143 52 16 15 7 8 Louisiana 4 134 137 41 12 16 12 15 Maine - 23 19 47 - 26 - - Maryland - 82 82 32 29 12 13 12 Massachusetts - 62 69 36 19 13 25 6 Michigan 6 155 174 35 18 20 13 7 Minnesota - 92 72 47 10 21 12 7 Mississippi - 103 104 40 22 12 14 11 Missouri - 140 123 44 16 14 10 15 Montana - 50 56 45 29 14 7 - Nebraska - 56 46 48 - 17 11 13 Nevada - 52 55 38 25 16 13 7 New Hampshire - 11 23 30 30 26 - - New Jersey - 100 101 31 18 13 16 20 New Mexico 8 60 50 44 10 8 - 24 169 155 43 10 21 8 7 New York (except N.Y.C.) 9 New York City - 148 109 13 47 9 25 4 North Carolina 2 191 210 43 15 23 10 7 23 35 40 - 26 26 - 201 201 45 13 23 10 6 Oklahoma 7 87 104 46 14 15 12 5 Oregon - 85 84 49 12 20 12 - Pennsylvania 4 282 259 43 15 17 13 9 Rhode Island - 6 10 80 - - - - 109 129 36 36 16 5 5 32 23 52 - 30 - - Tennessee 5 152 168 41 18 18 10 7 Texas 4 514 460 46 14 16 9 12 Utah - 64 66 50 8 27 6 - 7 9 78 - - - - Virginia - 153 166 40 16 19 13 8 Washington - 128 112 46 13 18 11 10 66 53 38 - 34 - 15 108 114 40 10 19 13 13 28 29 41 - 14 - - North Dakota Ohio 2 South Carolina South Dakota - Vermont - West Virginia Wisconsin 4 Wyoming - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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 Structures. 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. percent or data that are Dashes indicate less than 0.5 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, 1996-1997. Table 6. CFOI participating State agencies and telephone numbers State Telephone Agency Alabama 242-3460 Department of Labor (334) Alaska 465-4539 Department of Labor/Research & Analysis (907) Arizona 542-3739 Industrial Commission (602) Arkansas 682-4542 Department of Labor (501) California 972-8625 Department of Industrial Relations (415) Colorado 692-2163 Department of Public Health (303) Connecticut 566-4380 Labor Department (860) Delaware 761-8221 Department of Labor (302) District of Columbia 645-5963 Center for Health Statistics (202) Florida 922-8953 Dept. of Labor and Employment Security (850) Georgia 656-2966 Department of Labor (404) Hawaii 586-9001 Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations (808) Idaho 334-6090 Industrial Commission (208) Illinois 785-7130 Department of Public Health (217) Indiana 232-2679 Department of Labor (317) Iowa 281-3661 Workforce Development (515) Kansas 296-5641 Department of Health & Environment (785) Kentucky 564-6895 Labor Cabinet (502) Louisiana 342-3126 Department of Labor (504) Maine 624-6454 Department of Labor (207) Maryland 767-2356 Division of Labor and Industry (410) Massachusetts 624-5628 Department of Public Health (617) Michigan 322-1850 Dept. of Consumer and Industry Services (517) Minnesota 297-7429 Department of Labor and Industry (612) Mississippi 960-7741 Department of Health (601) Missouri 751-6103 Department of Health (573) Montana 444-3297 Department of Labor and Industry (406) Nebraska 471-3547 Workers' Compensation Court (402) Nevada 687-3298 Division of Industrial Relations (702) New Hampshire 271-4647 Department of Public Health (603) New Jersey 984-1863 Department of Health (609) New Mexico 827-4230 Health and Environment Division (505) New York 458-6228 Department of Health (518) New York City 788-4585 Department of Health (212) North Carolina 733-0337 Department of Labor (919) North Dakota 426-2483 Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) Ohio 466-4183 Department of Health (614) Oklahoma 528-1500 Department of Labor (405) Oregon 378-8254 Dept. of Consumer/Business Services (503) Pennsylvania 783-2548 Department of Health (717) Rhode Island 277-2812 Department of Health (401) South Carolina 734-4298 Department of Labor/Licensing & Regulation (803) South Dakota 426-2483 Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) Tennessee 741-1748 Department of Labor (615) Texas 440-3852 Workers' Compensation Commission (512) Utah 530-6823 Labor Commission (801) Vermont 565-2300 Bureau of Labor Statistics (617) Virginia 786-8011 Department of Labor & Industry (804) Washington 902-5510 Department of Labor & Industries (360) West Virginia 558-7890 Department of Labor (304) Wisconsin 266-7850 DWD, Workers' Compensation Research (608) Wyoming 426-2483 Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 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 1997 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 922. 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 274 fatal work injuries in 1997; 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 21 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 several other industries, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and 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, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Fatalities occurring in activities regulated by federal agencies other than OSHA accounted for about 15 percent of the fatal work injuries for 1997. 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 3 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.