 SAFETY ADVISORY (Ref. No. ADV-010) |
Job-related deaths declined in 1999 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fatal work injuries reduced slightly to 6,023 from the 6,055 job-related fatalities in 1998. In 1999, workplace deaths decreased four percent from the average toll of 6,280 in the five-year period from 1994 to 1998. Declines in homicide and electrocution on the job in 1999 were offset by increases in fatalities affecting workers struck by falling objects or caught in running machinery and involved in highway crashes. |
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| The leading cause of on-the-job fatalities was traffic accidents, which accounted for one-fourth of fatal work injuries, as the deaths rose from 1,442 to 1,491. This is the highest level since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries was first collected in 1992. Deaths from falls on-the-job increased from 706 to 717 and workplace homicides dropped ten percent (714 to 645). Falls remain the second leading cause of fatalities at work. |  |
| The report shows that "we must do more to prevent workplace fatalities in the construction industry, just as we have reduced homicides in the workplace, especially in retail establishments," Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman said. OSHA has issued guidance to retailers and taxi companies to reduce homicides in the workplace. Herman indicated that construction is the highest of any other industry and accounts for 20 percent of all workplace deaths.
Construction-related deaths increased slightly in 1999 (from 1,174 to 1,190), and transportation and utilities went from 911 to 1,006. A decline was noted in agriculture, forestry and fishing which went from 840 to 807; and the service industry went from 763 to 732. Manufacturing fatalities increased from 698 to 719. |
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