In Japan, there is an effort to cut down on deaths from overwork, known as karoshi. Yes, enough people die from overwork in Japan that there is actually a name for it. Fortunately for U.S. workers in general, workplace deaths fell to a record low last year, according to a recent report.

Workplace deaths fell by 6 percent in 2007, dropping to the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1992, according to the United States Department of Labor in late August.

Last year there were 5,488 fatal work injuries, a figure down from 5,840 in 2006 and 6,217 in 1992.

Texas had the most fatal workplace accidents (527 deaths in 2007) followed by California (407) and Florida (362) in 2007. Rhode Island, Delaware and Vermont had the fewest (5, 10 and 10, respectively).

On an absolute basis (as opposed to a per capita basis), highway fatalities are the No. 1 killer of people on the job. In fact, workplace fatalities involving transportation typically account for two-fifths of all on-the-job fatalities. That is why drivers (truckers and salespeople) are consistently among the top 10 most dangerous jobs. The majority of accidents stem from tired drivers veering off the road, rather than multi-car accidents.

"About one-fourth of all occupational fatalities in 2007 involved workers in transportation and material moving occupations, though fatalities among these workers declined by 5 percent in 2007," according to the recent report. "This decline was largely the result of a 6 percent decline in highway incidents, which account for about 50 percent of the fatalities in this occupation."

Fortunately, in last month's Labor Dept. report, transportation-related workplace fatalities fell to 2,234 — the lowest number since the government started compiling the numbers.

Still, the federal report showed some alarming results, not the least of which was that the number of workplace homicides rose 13 percent after 2006's series low.

In last September's America's Deadliest Jobs, we noted that electrical power line workers (installers and repairers) were ranked seventh and roofers ranked eighth in terms of occupational danger. For the former, major dangers are slip-and-falls from high altitude as well as electrocution risk from high-voltage lines. For the latter, the most common causes of injury or death are slip-and-falls from roofs, ladders or scaffolds.

Although the latest Labor Dept. report found that fatalities involving electrocutions, fires and explosions dropped significantly last year, it also determined that the number of fatal falls rose in 2007 to a record high of 835 — a 39 percent increase since 1992. The 835 fatal falls in 2007 represented a series high for the fatality census. The increase for falls overall was driven primarily by increases in falls on the same level (up 21 percent from 2006) and falls from non-moving vehicles (up 17 percent). Falls from roofs, however, were down 13 percent from the number in 2006.

As with the previous year, the four occupations with the highest fatality rates in 2007 were fishers and related fishing workers with a fatality rate of 111.8 per 100,000 workers, logging workers (86.4 per 100,000), aircraft pilots and flight engineers (66.7 per 100,000), and structural iron and steel workers (45.5 per 100,000).

(In the steel industry, on-the-job accidents resulted in more deaths in the first half of 2008 than in recent full years, the Wall Street Journal reported this summer.)

The total of 392 fatal work injuries in manufacturing represents the lowest total recorded in the five years since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program began using the North American Industry Classification System. The 2007 total for manufacturing represents a 14 percent decrease from the 2006 count.

The Labor Department cited increased outreach to employers by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as a major reason for the declines. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a statement that the new data showed that the current administration's programs to protect workers' safety "are indeed working" and noted that this was the lowest number of fatalities in recorded OSHA history.

Yet at least half of the dangers most associated with the aforementioned occupations are among the list of OSHA's top 10 violations for the latest year (2007): scaffolding, fall protection, powered industrial trucks, ladders and electrical.

A scary truism is that the list should come as no surprise to those who follow such figures; these same standards seem to appear year after year.

Spotlight on Canada
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's "Road to Zero" is a strategic plan for 2008-2012 that aims to achieve zero fatalities, injuries and illnesses in Canadian workplaces.

"When you're educated and aware, all injuries are preventable," WSIB chairman Steve Mahoney says in a message on the organization's Web site. "There really are no accidents."

On that principle, the following is a compilation of five clips, from the WSIB, that includes a construction-related explosion, a fall from a ladder and a forklift mishap. These commercials are fairly graphic — but as one commenter put it, "What good is the lesson if it doesn't stick with ya?"

Earlier

America's Deadliest Jobs

The Many Faces of Safety & Health

Get Safe and Sound

Resources

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2007
U.S. Department of Labor, Aug. 20, 2008

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Applauds Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Report Showing Decline in Worker Fatalities
U.S. Department of Labor, Aug. 20, 2008

OSHA Lists Top 10 Violations for 2007

Jobs for Life
The Economist, Dec. 19, 2007

On-the-Job Deaths Vex Steel Industry (subscription required)
by Kris Maher and Robert Guy Matthews
The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2008