Bureau of Labor Statistics
General Information: (312) 353-1880 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact: Paul LaPorte Friday, October 19, 2007
(312) 353-1138
http://www.bls.gov/ro5 Data Tables NORTH DAKOTA WORKPLACE FATALITIES, 2006 Fatal work injuries in North Dakota totaled 31 for 2006, up from 22 in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that the 2006 fatality count was the State's highest since 2000 and its third- highest since the Bureau began tracking workplace fatalities in 1992. The most frequent types of workplace fatalities in the State in 2006 were highway crashes (8), nonhighway transportation incidents (7), and falls to a lower level and workers being struck by an object (5 each). Taken together, these four events1 accounted for just over 80 percent of the work-related fatalities in North Dakota. The number of fatal work injuries from highway crashes in the State rose by five over the year-from three to eight, making it the most frequent fatal event in 2006. (See table A.) Highway crashes were also the leading cause of workplace fatalities nationwide. In 2006, highway crashes accounted for 26 percent of North Dakota's and 23 percent of the nation's on-the-job fatalities. Nonhighway transportation incidents (excluding rail, air, and water) were responsible for seven of the State's workplace fatalities. This was the highest single-year total since the BLS began recording data in 1992. The event's 23 percent share of North Dakota's fatal injuries was also the highest on record. Nationally, nonhighway transportation incidents accounted for 6 percent of total workplace fatalities. Five workers in North Dakota were fatally injured by being struck by objects in 2006, up two cases over the year. Being struck by an object accounted for 16 percent of the workplace fatalities in North Dakota and 10 percent nationally. The five on-the-job fatalities in North Dakota resulting from falls to a lower level also accounted for 16 percent of the State's total workplace deaths. The number of fatalities from this event changed little from the previous year. Nationally, falls to a lower level accounted for 13 percent of all workplace deaths. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Fatal events are categorized into several major groupings including transportation incidents, assaults and violent acts, and falls. These major groups are further broken down into more detailed groups. For example, transportation incidents includes highway incidents and aircraft incidents; assaults and violent acts includes homicides and suicides; and falls includes falls to a lower level (as from a roof or ladder) and falls on the same level (as from grease on a floor or ice on a sidewalk). Table A. Fatal occupational injuries in North Dakota by selected event groups, 1992-2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total | Highway | Nonhighway | Struck | Falls to Year |fatali- | crashes | incidents | by object | lower level | ties |------------------------------------------------------------ | |Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 20 4 20 -- -- -- -- 3 15 1993 30 4 13 -- -- 9 30 6 20 1994 21 3 14 3 14 3 14 -- -- 1995 28 3 11 -- -- 4 14 -- -- 1996 23 5 22 3 13 5 22 -- -- 1997 35 9 26 4 11 -- -- 9 26 1998 24 3 13 4 17 8 33 -- -- 1999 22 -- -- -- -- 4 18 -- -- 2000 34 3 9 4 12 5 15 4 12 2001 25 9 36 4 16 3 12 -- -- 2002 25 8 32 4 16 -- -- 3 12 2003 26 10 38 -- -- 5 19 -- -- 2004 24 3 13 -- -- 7 29 -- -- 2005 22 3 14 -- -- 3 14 4 18 2006 31 8 26 7 23 5 16 5 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. Nationwide, a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries were reported in 2006, down slightly from the revised total of 5,734 fatal work injuries recorded in 2005. The count for 2006 was the third lowest annual total recorded by the fatality census, which has been conducted yearly since 1992. (See table B.) The 2006 count of 1,329 fatal highway crashes was the lowest annual total since 1993. Highway crashes in 2006 accounted for nearly one out of every four fatal work injuries and continued to lead all other events in the frequency of on-the-job fatalities. Fatal work injuries involving falls to a lower level increased 10 percent in 2006 after a sharp decrease in 2005. The 2006 total of 728 fatal falls to a lower level was the second highest since the fatality census began. The number of workers who were fatally injured from being struck by objects was lower in 2006, after increasing for the last three years. The 583 fatalities resulting from being struck by objects in 2006 represented a 4-percent decline from the 2005 total. Workplace homicides decreased 9 percent to 516 in 2006, the lowest annual total ever reported by the fatality census. Overall, workplace homicides have decreased more than 50 percent from the series high in 1994. Table B. Fatal occupational injuries in the United States by selected event groups, 1992-2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total | Highway | Nonhighway | Struck | Falls to Year |fatali- | crashes | incidents | by object | lower level | ties |------------------------------------------------------------ | |Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 6,217 1,158 19 507 8 557 9 436 7 1993 6,331 1,242 20 534 8 565 9 392 6 1994 6,632 1,343 20 580 9 591 9 409 6 1995 6,275 1,346 21 578 9 547 9 387 6 1996 6,202 1,346 22 610 10 582 9 374 6 1997 6,238 1,393 22 653 10 579 9 377 6 1998 6,055 1,442 24 625 10 520 9 388 6 1999 6,054 1,496 25 634 10 585 10 352 6 2000 5,920 1,365 23 659 11 571 10 399 7 20011 5,915 1,409 24 700 12 553 9 326 6 2002 5,534 1,373 25 638 12 505 9 323 6 2003 5,575 1,353 24 604 11 531 10 347 6 2004 5,764 1,398 24 738 13 602 10 338 6 20052 5,734 1,437 25 664 12 607 11 340 6 2006 5,703 1,329 23 728 13 583 10 342 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Totals for 2001 exclude fatalities due to the events of September 11, 2001 which claimed the lives of 2,886 persons in work status. 2 The BLS news release issued August 10, 2006, reported a total of 5,702 fatal work injuries for calendar year 2005. Since then, an additional 32 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 2005 to 5,734. Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in North Dakota in 2006: - Men accounted for 97 percent of the work-related fatalities in the State with 30 deaths. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, accounted for more than half of these injuries. - Ninety-seven percent or 30 of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. - Workers aged 55 and over accounted for 58 percent or 18 of the State's workplace fatalities. Nationally, 27 percent of worker deaths belonged to this age group. - Nineteen wage and salary workers were on-the-job fatalities in 2006 representing 61 percent of North Dakota's fatality count; the rest were self-employed. - The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry sector had the largest number of fatalities with 15--almost one-half of the State's fatal injuries. No other major industry had more than five. In the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector, transportation incidents accounted for two-thirds (10) of the fatalities. In construction, falls were the most frequent event resulting in three of the industry's fatalities. - Workers in management (all farmers and ranchers) led all major occupational groups with 11 worker fatalities, accounting for 35 percent of the State's total count. Those in construction and extraction, and transportation and material moving accounted for seven and six workplace fatalities, respectively. Transportation incidents were the most prevalent cause of worker deaths in both the management and transportation and material moving occupational groups. Additional data available Additional Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available from the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Data tables for 2006 are available for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and selected metropolitan areas. Detailed data may be accessed through the online query system located at http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=fi. For additional information or assistance, please contact the Midwest Information Office in Chicago at (312) 353-1880, menu option 0. TECHNICAL NOTE 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 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.
Last Modified Date: October 19, 2007
