Work-Related Deaths Increased in Colorado in 2006
December 6, 2007—Denver—Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment officials
Wednesday announced the number of work-related deaths in
Colorado
increased from 125 in 2005 to 137 in 2006, an increase of
almost 10
percent, according to the 2006 Colorado Census of Fatal
Occupational
Injuries.
The data identifies transportation fatalities, primarily
highway
crashes, as the major cause of work-related deaths.
Also identified in the data were the state’s three leading
causes of
work-related deaths in 2006. They were:
- transportation fatalities, which include highway, rail and aircraft accidents;
- assaults and violent acts;
- contact with objects and equipment.
According to Debra Tuenge, coordinator of the Colorado
Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries at the Department of Public Health and
Environment, there were approximately five deaths in
Colorado for every
100,000 workers in the state’s workforce in 2006.
“Fatal injuries in 2006 were most likely to occur on a
Thursday,
with a total of 26 deaths,” Tuenge said. “The time of day at
which
the most fatal injuries occurred was between 10 a.m. and 11
a.m. with a
total of 16 fatalities during those hours.” Tuenge further detailed the top three causes of work-related
deaths in Colorado as follows:
- Transportation deaths continued to be the leading cause
of work-related deaths, accounting for 44 percent of the
state’s 137 occupational fatalities during 2006. Of Colorado’s 60 transportation-related occupational deaths in 2006, 42 were
highway fatalities compared to 35 the previous year, and nine
resulted from aircraft accidents, down from 18 fatalities in 2005.
Aircraft accidents include all aircraft that are used for business travel or
for transporting work-related supplies. Highway crashes
accounted for 30 percent of all occupational fatalities in 2006, compared
with 28 percent in 2005. A total of five workers were struck by vehicles
while at work.
- The second leading cause of occupational deaths in the
state was assaults and violent acts, which resulted in 30 deaths
compared to eight deaths in 2005.
- Contact with objects and equipment occurring at work was
the third leading cause of worker deaths in 2006 and resulted in
23 deaths. Thirteen workers were struck by an object, four were caught
in or compressed by equipment or objects, and four were caught in
or crushed in collapsing materials.
Work-related fatalities by worker characteristics
- Men accounted for 123 of the 137 worker deaths in 2006.
- By race/ethnicity, 109 deaths were white non-Hispanic
workers, 18 were Hispanic workers, eight were black workers, and the
remainder were American Indians, Alaska natives, Asians, native
Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders.
- Workers in the 45- to 54-year-old age group had the
highest number of fatalities, with 34 deaths.
Work-related
fatalities by industry
- The construction industry had the highest number of
deaths at
26.
- The transportation and warehousing industry had 19
deaths.
- The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry
had 18
deaths.
Work-related fatalities by occupation
- Transportation and material-moving occupations,
including air,
rail, water and highway transportation, as well as couriers
and
warehousing and storage, had the highest number of deaths,
with a total
of 34.
- Twenty-three deaths were in construction and extraction
occupations, such as construction and engineering projects
and
preparation of sites for new construction.
- Twenty fatal injuries occurred to persons working in
management
occupations.
The Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries is a
cooperative
effort of the Department of Public Health and Environment’s
Health
Statistics Section and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau
of Labor
Statistics, which recently released its 2006 National Census
of Fatal
Occupational Injuries.
For additional information about work-related injury
deaths in Colorado
and the nation, visit the Colorado Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries
Web site at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/cfoi/colorado.html.
--30-- |
