Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show slightly improved numbers for workplace fatalities last year. Transportation-related fatalities continue to be the No. 1 cause of on-the-job deaths.

Nearly the same number of workers in the United States lost their lives due to fatal workplace injuries in 2010 as in 2009, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A total of 4,547 fatal occupational injuries occurred in 2010, down slightly from 4,551 fatalities recorded in 2009.

The rate of fatal work injuries for U.S. workers last year was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, the same as the final rate for the prior year.

“When the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970, the National Safety Council estimated that 14,000 workers died each year on the job,” Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement. “Now, with a workforce that has doubled in size, the annual number of fatalities has dropped significantly. But it’s not enough. … One worker killed or injured on the job is one too many.”

Economic factors continue to play a role in the fatal work injury count, according to the BLS. Total hours worked were up slightly last year in contrast to the declines recorded in both 2008 and 2009. While the number of fatal work injuries among the self-employed declined by 6 percent to 999 fatalities — more than the decline in their hours worked — the number of fatal injuries among wage and salary workers increased by 2 percent in 2010.

Some historically high-risk industries continued to experience declines or slow growth in total hours worked.

In the private mining industry, fatal work injuries rose from 99 in 2009 to 172 in 2010, up 74 percent from 2009. The fatal work injury rate for mining rose from 12.4 in 2009 to 19.9 in 2010. The multiple-fatality incidents at the Upper Big Branch Mine (29 worker fatalities) and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (11 worker fatalities) are included in these figures. Fatal work injuries were sharply higher both in mining activities other than oil and gas (up 110 percent) and in support activities for mining (up 71 percent).

In the private construction sector, fatal work injuries dropped by 10 percent from 2009 to 2010 and are down nearly 40 percent since 2006. Economic conditions may explain much of this decline, as total hours worked have declined another 6 percent in construction in 2010, after declines in both 2008 and 2009. Even with the lower fatal injury total, however, construction accounted for more fatal work injuries than any other industry in 2010.

Among service-providing industries in the private sector, work injuries in transportation and warehousing accounted for 631 fatalities, two fewer deaths than in 2009. Nevertheless, the number of fatal injuries in truck transportation, the largest subsector within transportation and warehousing in terms of employment, rose 2 percent last year, led by a 17 percent increase in specialized freight trucking.

Although transportation incidents decreased slightly from 2009 to 2010, they collectively accounted for nearly two of every five fatal work injuries last year. Non-highway incidents, such as an off-road tractor overturn, increased 4 percent last year, while fatal occupational injuries involving water vehicles and aircraft were both lower in 2010, according to the preliminary BLS data.

Among the top causes of on-the-job deaths in 2010, transportation-related fatalities were followed by assaults and violent acts, contact with objects and equipment, falls and exposure to harmful substances or environments.

The number of fatal falls declined from 645 in 2009 to 635 in 2010. Overall, fatal falls are down 25 percent since 2007. In the construction industry, fatal falls have decreased by 42 percent since 2007. Fall protection has been the second most-cited safety violation on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s top 10 list in recent years.

Meanwhile, work-related fatalities resulting from fires more than doubled, from 53 in 2009 to 109 in 2010 — the highest count since 2003.

Finally, workplace homicides declined 7 percent in 2010 to the lowest total ever recorded by the fatality census, but workplace homicides involving women increased 13 percent. A separate report from the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year showed a 51 percent decline in workplace homicides between 1993 and 2009.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) says the new BLS data should be a call to action.

“A statistical plateau of worker fatalities is not an achievement, but evidence that this nation’s effort to protect workers is stalled. These statistics call for nothing less than a new paradigm in the way this nation protects workers,” Terrie Norris, president of the ASSE, said in response to the BLS data. “The time has come for all stakeholders in occupational safety and health to come down off the plateau of acceptance and work together to find conciliatory ways that help make sure our economy, our jobs and corporate bottom lines can benefit from a safe and healthy workforce.”

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Resources

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries 2010
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Aug. 25, 2011

Statement…on Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2010
U.S. Department of Labor, Aug. 25, 2011

…Just Released BLS Workplace Fatalities Report Should be a Call to Action
American Society of Safety Engineers, Aug. 30, 2011