The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries - 2000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 1. Fatal occupational
injuries by event or exposure, 1995-2000
Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries
and employment by industry, 2000
Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and
selected event or exposure, 2000
Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected worker
characteristics, 2000
Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries
by State and event or exposure, 2000
TECHNICAL NOTES
Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1995-2000 _________________________________________________________________ | | Fatalities _______________________________________ | | | | Event or exposure(1) | | 1999(2) | 2000 _____________________________ | 1995-99 | | | average | | | | | Number | Number | Percent _________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | Total..................| 6,165 | 6,054 | 5,915 | 100 | | | | Transportation incidents.| 2,611 | 2,618 | 2,571 | 43 Highway................| 1,405 | 1,496 | 1,363 | 23 Collision between | | | | vehicles, mobile | | | | equipment...........| 674 | 714 | 694 | 12 Moving in same | | | | direction.........| 115 | 129 | 136 | 2 Moving in opposite | | | | directions, | | | | oncoming..........| 248 | 270 | 243 | 4 Moving in | | | | intersection......| 140 | 161 | 153 | 3 Vehicle struck | | | | stationary object or| | | | equipment...........| 288 | 334 | 279 | 5 Noncollision.........| 371 | 390 | 356 | 6 Jack-knifed or | | | | overturned--no | | | | collision.........| 290 | 322 | 304 | 5 Nonhighway (farm, | | | | industrial premises)..| 376 | 352 | 399 | 7 Overturned...........| 211 | 206 | 213 | 4 Aircraft...............| 264 | 228 | 280 | 5 Worker struck by a | | | | vehicle...............| 380 | 377 | 370 | 6 Water vehicle..........| 106 | 102 | 84 | 1 Rail vehicle...........| 73 | 56 | 71 | 1 | | | | Assaults and violent acts| 1,085 | 909 | 929 | 16 Homicides..............| 837 | 651 | 677 | 11 Shooting.............| 663 | 509 | 533 | 9 Stabbing.............| 69 | 62 | 66 | 1 Other, including | | | | bombing.............| 106 | 80 | 78 | 1 Self-inflicted injury..| 216 | 218 | 220 | 4 | | | | | | | | Contact with objects and | | | | equipment...............| 987 | 1,030 | 1,005 | 17 Struck by object.......| 563 | 585 | 570 | 10 Struck by falling | | | | object..............| 361 | 358 | 357 | 6 Struck by flying | | | | object..............| 58 | 55 | 61 | 1 Caught in or compressed| | | | by equipment or | | | | objects...............| 286 | 302 | 294 | 5 Caught in running | | | | equipment or | | | | machinery...........| 152 | 163 | 157 | 3 Caught in or crushed in| | | | collapsing materials..| 123 | 129 | 123 | 2 | | | | Falls....................| 697 | 721 | 734 | 12 Fall to lower level....| 620 | 634 | 659 | 11 Fall from ladder.....| 103 | 96 | 110 | 2 Fall from roof.......| 151 | 153 | 150 | 3 Fall from scaffold, | | | | staging.............| 89 | 92 | 85 | 1 Fall on same level.....| 54 | 70 | 56 | 1 | | | | Exposure to harmful | | | | substances or | | | | environments............| 561 | 533 | 480 | 8 Contact with electric | | | | current...............| 308 | 280 | 256 | 4 Contact with overhead| | | | power lines.........| 134 | 125 | 128 | 2 Contact with | | | | temperature extremes..| 46 | 51 | 29 | (3) Exposure to caustic, | | | | noxious, or allergenic| | | | substances............| 113 | 108 | 100 | 2 | | | | Inhalation of | | | | substance...........| 60 | 55 | 48 | 1 Oxygen deficiency......| 92 | 92 | 93 | 2 Drowning, submersion.| 74 | 75 | 74 | 1 | | | | Fires and explosions.....| 202 | 216 | 177 | 3 | | | | Other events or | | | | exposures(4)............| 21 | 27 | 19 | (3) _________________________________________________________________
1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness
Classification Manual.
2 The BLS news release issued August 17, 2000, reported a total
of 6,023 fatal work injuries for calendar year 1999. Since then,
an additional 31 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing
the total job-related fatality count for 1999 to 6,054.
3 Less than 0.5 percent.
4 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries
Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by industry, 2000 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | Fatalities | Employment(2) | | | (in thousands) ___________________________________________________________ | | | Industry | SIC | | | | | | code | | 1999(1) | 2000 | | _____________________________ | | 1995-99 | | | Number | Percent | | average | | | | | | | | Number | Number | Percent | | _______________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total..................| | 6,165 | 6,054 | 5,915 | 100 | 136,377 | 100 | | | | | | | Private industry.........| | 5,530 | 5,488 | 5,344 | 90 | 116,134 | 85 | | | | | | | Agriculture, forestry | | | | | | | and fishing...........| | 819 | 814 | 720 | 12 | 3,380 | 2 Agricultural | | | | | | | production - crops..| 01 | 362 | 356 | 277 | 5 | 987 | 1 Agricultural | | | | | | | production - | | | | | | | livestock...........| 02 | 168 | 164 | 132 | 2 | 990 | 1 Agricultural services| 07 | 168 | 164 | 213 | 4 | 1,306 | 1 | | | | | | | Mining.................| | 147 | 122 | 156 | 3 | 520 | - Coal mining..........| 12 | 36 | 35 | 40 | 1 | 76 | - Oil and gas | | | | | | | extraction..........| 13 | 74 | 50 | 83 | 1 | 313 | - | | | | | | | Construction...........| | 1,115 | 1,191 | 1,154 | 20 | 8,949 | 7 General building | | | | | | | contractors.........| 15 | 190 | 183 | 175 | 3 | - | - Heavy construction, | | | | | | | except building.....| 16 | 260 | 280 | 284 | 5 | - | - Special trade | | | | | | | contractors.........| 17 | 652 | 710 | 672 | 11 | - | - | | | | | | | Manufacturing..........| | 720 | 722 | 668 | 11 | 19,868| 15 Food and kindred | | | | | | | products............| 20 | 76 | 83 | 68 | 1 | 1,661| 1 Lumber and wood | | | | | | | products............| 24 | 190 | 190 | 186 | 3 | 782| 1 | | | | | | | Transportation and | | | | | | | public utilities......| | 960 | 1,008 | 957 | 16 | 8,084| 6 Local and interurban | | | | | | | passenger | | | | | | | transportation......| 41 | 98 | 102 | 84 | 1 | 574| - | | | | | | | Trucking and | | | | | | | warehousing.........| 42 | 548 | 607 | 566 | 10 | 2,733| 2 Transportation by air| 45 | 85 | 74 | 97 | 2 | 889| 1 Electric, gas, and | | | | | | | sanitary services...| 49 | 88 | 86 | 84 | 1 | 1,007| 1 | | | | | | | Wholesale trade........| | 247 | 238 | 230 | 4 | 5,407| 4 | | | | | | | Retail trade...........| | 624 | 513 | 594 | 10 | 22,315| 16 Food stores..........| 54 | 163 | 118 | 145 | 2 | 3,385| 2 Automotive dealers | | | | | | | and service stations| 55 | 108 | 83 | 95 | 2 | 2,246| 2 Eating and drinking | | | | | | | places..............| 58 | 148 | 146 | 138 | 2 | 6,836| 5 | | | | | | | Finance, insurance, and| | | | | | | real estate...........| | 107 | 107 | 79 | 1 | 8,538| 6 | | | | | | | Services...............| | 750 | 736 | 768 | 13 | 39,170| 29 Business services....| 73 | 184 | 161 | 199 | 3 | 9,602| 7 Automotive repair, | | | | | | | services, and | | | | | | | parking.............| 75 | 119 | 133 | 132 | 2 | 1,622| 1 | | | | | | | Government(3)............| | 634 | 566 | 571 | 10 | 20,243| 15 | | | | | | | Federal (including | | | | | | | resident armed forces)| | 191 | 148 | 149 | 3 | 4,461| 3 State..................| | 125 | 109 | 108 | 2 | 5,468| 4 Local..................| | 312 | 303 | 310 | 5 | 10,314| 8 Police protection....| 9221 | 99 | 91 | 112 | 2 | - | - _______________________________________________________________________________________________
1 The BLS news release issued August 17, 2000, reported a total of 6,023 fatal work injuries
for calendar year 1999. Since then, an additional 31 job-related fatalities were identified,
bringing the total job-related fatality count for 1999 to 6,054.
2 The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, plus
resident military forces, from the Current Population Survey, 2000.
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 17 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine a specific
industry classification, though a distinction between private and government was made for each.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State and
Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and selected event or exposure, 2000 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Fatalities | Selected events or exposures(2) | | (percent) ___________________________________________________________________ Occupation(1) | | | | | | | | | Number | Percent | Highway(3)| Homicide | Struck by | Fall to | | | | | object |lower level _____________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | Total..................| 5,915 | 100 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 11 | | | | | | Managerial and | | | | | | professional specialty..| 642 | 11 | 23 | 22 | 4 | 6 Executive, | | | | | | administrative, and | | | | | | managerial...........| 397 | 7 | 20 | 29 | 5 | 7 Managers, food | | | | | | serving and lodging | | | | | | establishments......| 70 | 1 | 7 | 67 | - | - Professional specialty.| 245 | 4 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | Technical, sales, and | | | | | | administrative support..| 686 | 12 | 20 | 34 | 1 | 4 Technicians and related| | | | | | support occupations...| 194 | 3 | 12 | - | - | 5 Airplane pilots and | | | | | | navigators..........| 130 | 2 | - | - | - | - Sales occupations......| 386 | 7 | 21 | 53 | 2 | 3 Supervisors and | | | | | | proprietors, sales | | | | | | occupations.........| 185 | 3 | 12 | 59 | 3 | - Sales workers, retail| | | | | | and personal | | | | | | services............| 162 | 3 | 23 | 56 | - | 3 Cashiers...........| 68 | 1 | - | 82 | - | - Administrative support | | | | | | occupations, including| | | | | | clerical..............| 106 | 2 | 33 | 29 | - | 8 | | | | | | Service occupations......| 431 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 3 | 8 Protective service | | | | | | occupations...........| 257 | 4 | 28 | 33 | - | 2 Firefighting, | | | | | | including | | | | | | supervisors.........| 43 | 1 | 26 | - | - | - Police and | | | | | | detectives, | | | | | | including | | | | | | supervisors.........| 142 | 2 | 38 | 35 | - | - | | | | | | Guards, including | | | | | | supervisors.........| 72 | 1 | 10 | 46 | - | - Cleaning and building | | | | | | service...............| 78 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 32 | | | | | | Farming, forestry, and | | | | | | fishing.................| 806 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 7 Farm operators and | | | | | | managers..............| 320 | 5 | 8 | - | 17 | 4 Farmers, except | | | | | | horticultural.......| 251 | 4 | 6 | - | 16 | 3 Managers, farms, | | | | | | except horitcultural| 59 | 1 | 12 | - | 20 | - Other agricultural and | | | | | | related occupations...| 320 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 12 Farm occupations, | | | | | | except managerial...| 168 | 3 | 14 | - | 8 | 7 Farm workers, | | | | | | including | | | | | | supervisors.......| 166 | 3 | 14 | - | 8 | 6 Related agricultural | | | | | | occupations.........| 152 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 24 | 18 Groundskeepers and | | | | | | gardeners, except | | | | | | farm..............| 130 | 2 | 9 | - | 25 | 18 Forestry and logging | | | | | | occupations...........| 113 | 2 | 4 | - | 68 | 4 Timber cutting and | | | | | | logging occupations.| 95 | 2 | - | - | 74 | - Fishers, hunters, and | | | | | | trappers..............| 53 | 1 | - | - | - | - Fishers, including | | | | | | vessel captains and | | | | | | officers............| 52 | 1 | - | - | - | - | | | | | | Precision production, | | | | | | craft, and repair.......| 1,105 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 27 Mechanics and repairers| 322 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 16 Construction trades....| 613 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 38 | | | | | | Carpenters and | | | | | | apprentices.........| 91 | 2 | 7 | - | 11 | 52 Electricians and | | | | | | apprentices.........| 89 | 2 | 7 | - | - | 17 Roofers..............| 65 | 1 | - | - | - | 74 Structural metal | | | | | | workers.............| 47 | 1 | - | - | 15 | 55 Extractive occupations.| 69 | 1 | 12 | - | 19 | 9 | | | | | | Operators, fabricators, | | | | | | and laborers............| 2,118 | 36 | 37 | 5 | 10 | 9 Machine operators, | | | | | | assemblers, and | | | | | | inspectors............| 237 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 12 Transportation and | | | | | | material moving | | | | | | occupations...........| 1,264 | 21 | 55 | 5 | 6 | 3 Motor vehicle | | | | | | operators...........| 1,002 | 17 | 67 | 6 | 5 | 2 Truck drivers......| 852 | 14 | 70 | 2 | 6 | 2 Taxicab drivers and| | | | | | chauffeurs........| 70 | 1 | 31 | 60 | - | - Material moving | | | | | | equipment operators.| 215 | 4 | 10 | - | 14 | 8 Handlers, equipment | | | | | | cleaners, helpers, and| | | | | | laborers..............| 617 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 20 Construction laborers| 288 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 29 Laborers, except | | | | | | construction........| 178 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 12
Military occupations(4)| 87 | 1 | 8 | - | - | -
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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 non passengers.
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 40 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine a
specific occupation classification.
Dashes indicate no data reported or data 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
Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected worker characteristics, 2000 __________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Fatalities | Employment(1) | | | (in thousands) | Most frequent events _______________________________________ Characteristics | | | (percent of total) | | | | | | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | __________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | Total..................| 5,915 | 100 | 136,377 | 100 |Highway (23), falls (12) | | | | | Employee status | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Wage and salary | | | | | workers(2)..............| 4,731 | 80 | 126,331 | 92 |Highway (26), falls (13) Self-employed(3).........| 1,184 | 20 | 10,046| 7 |Homicides (16), highway (13) | | | | | Sex | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Men......................| 5,467 | 92 | 73,293| 54 |Highway (22), falls (13) Women....................| 448 | 8 | 63,083| 46 |Highway (31), homicides (30) | | | | | Age | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Under 16 years.........| 29 | (4) | - | - |Highway (24), nonhighway(21) 16 to 17 years.........| 44 | 1 | 2,782| 2 |Nonhighway (20), highway (18) 18 to 19 years.........| 127 | 2 | 4,620| 3 |Highway (26), falls (14) 20 to 24 years.........| 444 | 8 | 13,690| 10 |Highway (21), falls (11) 25 to 34 years.........| 1,161 | 20 | 30,896| 23 |Highway (23), homicides (12) 35 to 44 years.........| 1,473 | 25 | 36,941| 27 |Highway (24), homicides (12) 45 to 54 years.........| 1,313 | 22 | 29,750| 22 |Highway (23), homicides (13) 55 to 64 years.........| 830 | 14 | 13,627| 10 |Highway (22), falls (13) 65 and over............| 488 | 8 | 4,071| 3 |Highway (20), nonhighway(17) | | | | | | | | | | Race or ethnic origin(5) | | | | | | | | | | White....................| 4,240 | 72 | 100,457 | 74 |Highway (24), falls (12) Black or African American| 574 | 10 | 14,858| 11 |Highway (27), homicides (21) Hispanic or Latino.......| 815 | 14 | 14,589| 11 |Falls (20), highway (18) American Indian or | | | | | Alaskan Native..........| 33 | 1 | - | - |Highway (18), falls (15) Asian....................| 171 | 3 | - | - | Homicides (48) Native Hawaiian or | | | | | Pacific Islander........| 14 | (4) | - | - | - Other races or not | | | | | reported................| 68 | 1 | - | - |Homicides (29), highway (15) __________________________________________________________________________________________
1 The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older,
plus resident military forces, from the Current Population Survey, 2000.
2 May include volunteers and other workers receiving compensation.
3 Includes paid and unpaid family workers, and may include owners of incorporated
businesses, or members of partnerships.
4 Less than 0.5 percent.
5 The categories "White" and "Black or African American" do not include "Hispanic or Latino"
persons. Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately.
Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
There were 6 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine the
age of the decedent.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State
and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by State and event or exposure, 2000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Fatalities | Event or exposure _______________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Exposure| | | | Trans- | | Contact | | to | State of injury | | |portation| Assaults| with | | harmful| Fires | 1999(1) | 2000(2) | in- | and | objects | Falls | sub | and | | |cidents(-| violent | and | | stances |explosio- | | | 3) | acts(4) |equipment| | or | ns | | | | | | | environ-| | | | | | | | ments | _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total..................| 6,054 | 5,915 | 43 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 3 | | | | | | | | Northeast................| 758 | 730 | 37 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 3 Connecticut............| 38 | 55 | 33 | 16 | 29 | 13 | - | - Maine..................| 32 | 26 | 65 | - | - | - | - | - Massachusetts..........| 83 | 67 | 31 | 24 | 16 | 18 | - | 9 New Hampshire..........| 14 | 13 | 38 | - | - | - | - | - New Jersey.............| 104 | 115 | 43 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 5 | - New York (inc. N.Y.C.).| 241 | 233 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 18 | 5 | 3 New York City........| 120 | 111 | 14 | 52 | 7 | 16 | - | 5 Pennsylvania...........| 221 | 199 | 44 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 9 | - Rhode Island...........| 11 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - Vermont................| 14 | 15 | - | - | 53 | - | - | - Midwest..................| 1,426 | 1,334 | 43 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 3 Illinois...............| 208 | 205 | 41 | 14 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 Indiana................| 171 | 159 | 42 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 11 | - Iowa...................| 80 | 71 | 42 | - | 18 | 20 | 14 | - Kansas.................| 87 | 85 | 59 | 6 | 12 | 18 | - | - Michigan...............| 182 | 156 | 32 | 17 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 4 Minnesota..............| 72 | 68 | 37 | 7 | 26 | 19 | - | - Missouri...............| 165 | 148 | 46 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 5 Nebraska...............| 66 | 59 | 66 | - | 19 | - | - | - North Dakota...........| 22 | 34 | 26 | - | 35 | 15 | - | - Ohio...................| 222 | 207 | 40 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 7 | - South Dakota...........| 46 | 35 | 54 | - | 17 | - | - | - Wisconsin..............| 105 | 107 | 46 | 13 | 23 | 8 | 7 | - South....................| 2,565 | 2,599 | 43 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 3 Alabama................| 123 | 103 | 56 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | - Arkansas...............| 76 | 106 | 53 | 14 | 20 | 8 | - | - Delaware...............| 14 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - District of Columbia...| 14 | 13 | - | 62 | - | - | - | - Florida................| 345 | 329 | 41 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 2 Georgia................| 229 | 195 | 45 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 3 Kentucky...............| 120 | 132 | 49 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 8 | - Louisiana..............| 141 | 143 | 48 | 8 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 4 Maryland...............| 82 | 84 | 33 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 8 | - Mississippi............| 128 | 125 | 50 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 9 | - North Carolina.........| 222 | 234 | 43 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 2 Oklahoma...............| 99 | 82 | 50 | 11 | 15 | - | 11 | 7 South Carolina.........| 139 | 114 | 47 | 14 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 4 Tennessee..............| 154 | 160 | 44 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 10 | - Texas..................| 468 | 572 | 38 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 4 Virginia...............| 154 | 148 | 32 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 8 West Virginia..........| 57 | 46 | 50 | 11 | 20 | - | - | - West.....................| 1,284 | 1,248 | 49 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 2 Alaska.................| 42 | 53 | 74 | - | 15 | - | - | - Arizona................| 70 | 118 | 58 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 6 | - California.............| 602 | 553 | 42 | 20 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 2 Colorado...............| 106 | 117 | 50 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 6 | - Hawaii.................| 32 | 20 | 30 | 40 | - | - | - | - Idaho..................| 43 | 35 | 66 | - | 17 | - | - | - Montana................| 49 | 42 | 52 | 14 | 24 | - | - | - Nevada.................| 58 | 51 | 65 | 14 | - | - | - | - New Mexico.............| 39 | 35 | 57 | - | 17 | - | - | - Oregon.................| 69 | 52 | 46 | - | 27 | - | - | - Utah...................| 54 | 61 | 52 | - | 15 | 8 | 11 | 10 Washington.............| 88 | 75 | 44 | 13 | 25 | 11 | - | - Wyoming................| 32 | 36 | 47 | - | 19 | - | - | - _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 The BLS news release issued August 17, 2000, reported a total of 6,023 fatal work injuries for
calendar year 1999. Since then, an additional 31 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the
total job-related fatality count for 1999 to 6,054.
2 Includes 4 fatalities that occurred inside the U.S. territorial boundaries, but a State of incident
could not be determined.
3 Includes highway, nonhighway, air, water, rail fatalities, and fatalities resulting from being struck
by a vehicle.
4 Includes violence by persons, self-inflicted injury, and attacks by animals.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not
add to totals because of rounding.
Dashes indicate no data reported or data 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
Table 6. CFOI participating State agencies and telephone numbers Table 6. CFOI participating state agencies and telephone numbers
State Agency Telephone number
Alabama Department of Labor (334) 242-3460 Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (907) 465-4539 Arizona Industrial Commission of Arizona (602) 542-3739 Arkansas Department of Labor (501) 682-4542 California Department of Industrial Relations (415) 703-4776 Colorado Department of Public Health (303) 692-2173 Connecticut Labor Department (860) 566-4380 Delaware Department of Labor (302) 761-8223 District of Columbia Center for Health Statistics (202) 442-5920 Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security (850) 922-8953 Georgia Department of Labor (404) 679-0687 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (808) 586-9001 Idaho Industrial Commission (208) 334-6090 Illinois Department of Public Health (217) 782-5750 Indiana Department of Labor (317) 232-2668 Iowa Division of Labor Services (515) 281-5151 Kansas Department of Health and Environment (785) 296-1058 Kentucky Labor Cabinet (502) 564-3070 Louisiana Department of Labor (225) 342-3126 Maine Bureau of Labor Standards (207) 624-6440 Maryland Division of Labor and Industry (410) 767-2356 Massachusetts Department of Public Health (617) 624-5627 Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services (517) 322-5258 Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (651) 284-5568 Mississippi Department of Health (601) 576-7186 Missouri Department of Health (573) 751-6155 Montana Department of Labor and Industry (406) 444-3297 Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court (402) 471-3547 Nevada Division of Industrial Relations (775) 684-7082 New Hampshire Department of Public Health (603) 271-4647 New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (609) 984-1863 New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (505) 827-4230 New York State Department of Health (518) 402-7900 New York City Department of Health (212) 788-4585 North Carolina Department of Labor (919) 733-0337 North Dakota Bureau of Labor Statistics (312) 353-7200 Ohio Department of Health (614) 466-4183 Oklahoma Department of Labor (405) 528-1500 Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (503) 947-7051 Pennsylvania Department of Health (717) 783-2548 Rhode Island Department of Health (401) 222-2812 South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (803) 734-4298 South Dakota Bureau of Labor Statistics (312) 353-7200 Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (615) 741-1749 Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (512) 804-4651 Utah Labor Commission (801) 530-6823 Vermont Department of Labor and Industry (802) 828-5076 Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (804) 786-6427 Washington Department of Labor and Industries (360) 902-5510 West Virginia Department of Labor (304) 558-7890 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (608) 266-7850 Wyoming Bureau of Labor Statistics (816) 426-2483
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 2000 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, asphyxiation, 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 is not reported in the BLS census and is 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.
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 and other non-governmental 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.
In 2000, there were 147 cases included for which work relationship could not be independently verified; 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 20 fatalities submitted by states were not included because the initiating source document had insufficient information to determine work relationship and 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. The BLS news release issued August 17, 2000, reported a total of 6,023 fatal work injuries for 1999. Since then, an additional 31 fatal work injuries were identified, bringing the total for 1999 to 6,054.
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 the nation's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, 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 and various agencies within the Department of Transportation. Fatalities occurring in activities regulated by federal agencies other than OSHA accounted for about 15 percent of the fatal work injuries in 2000.
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 1 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; 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.