PLS – 4351
FOR RELEASE:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2007

Washington, D.C. Area Workplace Fatalities, 2006 (PDF)

Fatal work injuries totaled 68 in 2006 for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that this year’s count was 31 percent lower than the 99 fatalities recorded in 2005. Most workplace fatalities¹ in the Washington, D.C. area in 2006 were the result of falls to a lower level (14), homicides (12), and highway crashes (9), which together accounted for 51 percent of the work-related deaths in the metropolitan area.

The Washington, D.C. area had the 9th-highest fatality count among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, close to its 8th-place ranking in population size. Not unexpectedly, the most populated area in the country, New York, also had the highest number of workplace fatalities in 2006 with 198. The three smallest metropolitan areas in this group--San Francisco, Boston, and Detroit--had the three lowest fatality counts (ranging from 38 to 56). (See table A.)

In the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, falls to a lower level was the most frequent type of fatal occupational injury; this was also true in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. In Detroit, both falls to a lower level and highway incidents (referred to in this release as highway crashes but includes non-collision incidents as well) tied as the most frequent fatal event among workers in 2006. In addition, 11 of the 12 metropolitan areas had an above-average share of work-related deaths attributed to falls to a lower level, Dallas being the only exception. In Dallas, falls to a lower level accounted for 10.1 percent of workplace fatalities, below the 12.8 percent registered nationally in 2006. (See chart A.)

Chart A. Falls to a lower level as a percent of fatal occupational injuries for the 12 largest metropolitan areas in 2006

All of the 12 largest areas had a higher percentage of occupational fatalities resulting from homicides than the national share of 9.0 percent. In three of the largest areas--Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Houston--homicides comprised greater than 20 percent of all work-related fatalities, more than double the U.S. percentage. The portion of worker fatalities due to homicides in Washington, D.C. was also high, at 17.6 percent in 2006. (See chart B.) At the other end of the spectrum, Boston attributed 9.3 percent of its fatalities to homicides, close to that for the nation.

Almost all of the 12 largest metropolitan areas had a lower-than-average percentage of occupational fatalities resulting from highway crashes. In fact, only Atlanta, with a 24.1-percent share, was above the 23.3 percent registered nationally in 2006. In Washington, highway crashes accounted for 13.2 percent of all worksite fatalities and in two areas, Los Angeles and Boston, percentages were under 10.0 percent. (See chart C.) Nationwide, highway crashes were the most frequent fatal workplace event; this was also true in Dallas and Atlanta.

Chart B. Homicides as a percent of fatal occupational injuries for the 12 largest metropolitan areas in 2006

Chart C. Highway crashes as a percent of fatal occupational injuries for the 12 largest metropolitan areas in 2006

Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. metropolitan area in 2006:

• Men accounted for 88 percent of the work-related fatalities with 60 deaths in the metropolitan area. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail fatalities, accounted for 30 percent of these deaths. Among women, 50 percent, or four of the eight deaths, resulted from assaults and violent acts. (See table 2.)

• Forty-seven percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white, non-Hispanic (32); 34 percent were Hispanic or Latino (23); and 16 percent were black, non-Hispanic (11). The most frequent fatal event for white, non-Hispanic workers was transportation incidents; among Hispanic or Latino workers, contact with objects and equipment was the most prevalent event; and for black, non-Hispanic workers, assaults and violent acts led all other events in frequency. (See table 2.)

• Workers 25-54 years old¾the prime working age group¾made up 69 percent or 47 of the work-related fatalities in the Washington, D.C. area in 2006; older workers, those 55 years and over, accounted for 16 percent or 11 of the fatally injured. (See table 2.)

• Eighty-eight percent, or 60, of the workers killed on the job worked for wages and salaries; the rest were self-employed. The leading fatal event among wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; among the self-employed, falls was the most prevalent event. (See table 2.)

• The construction industry sector accounted for 38 percent of Washington, D.C.’s fatal workplace injuries with 26 deaths. Twelve of the fatalities in construction, or 46 percent, were attributable to falls. The government sector had the next-highest fatality count with 11 deaths, 4 of which were the result of transportation incidents. (See table 3.)
  

• Workers in construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of on-the-job fatalities in 2006 at 24, followed by those in transportation and material moving occupations with 16. Combined, these two occupational groups accounted for 59 percent of all workplace fatalities in the Washington, D.C. area. Falls were the most frequent fatal event in the construction and extraction occupations, while in the transportation and material moving occupations, transportation incidents were the most frequent event. (See table 4.)

Additional Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/. Data can be accessed in two ways, through Create Customized Tables, which allows quick access to particular items, or via the special request FTP service, which allows access to an extensive collection of flat text files. For personal assistance or further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and other programs and surveys are available on our Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ro3/.

TECHNICAL NOTES

Background of the program

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. in each calendar year. The program uses diverse State and Federal data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (industry, occupation, and other worker characteristics; equipment being used; and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers’ compensation records, news accounts, and reports to Federal and State agencies. This method assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

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. Fatalities to volunteer and unpaid family workers who perform the same duties and functions as paid workers are also included in the counts. 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 normal commute to or from work are excluded from the census counts.)

Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 2006 that resulted from traumatic occupational injuries. An injury is defined as any wound or damage to the body resulting from acute exposure to energy, such as heat, electricity, or impact from a crash or fall, or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen caused by a specific event or incident 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 exposures 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.

Federal/State agency coverage

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other Federal or State agencies or was 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 by each agency.

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 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 18 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 District of Columbia Department of Health, Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and West Virginia Department of Labor 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.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md. Metropolitan Division (MD) and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Division (MD). The Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md. MD is composed of Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. MD consists of the District of Columbia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.