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CONTACT: Media Interviews (415) 625-2270 (415) 625-2283 Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/ro9/news.htm
BLS 09-19 |
CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES FOR ARIZONA, 2007
Fatal work injuries in Arizona totaled 88 in 2007, down from the 112 recorded in the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Please note that the 2007 results are preliminary; final results will be released in April 2009. Richard J. Holden, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the most frequent types of workplace fatalities in 2007 were highway crashes (20) and falls to a lower level (14). These two events accounted for almost 40 percent of the workplace fatalities in the Arizona.
1Fatal events are categorized into several major groupings including transportation incidents, assaults and violent acts, and falls, among others. These major groups are further broken down into more detailed groups. See the Occupational Injury & Illness Classification System (OIICS) Manual at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm for detailed information on the categories of fatalities used in this census.
As noted, highway crashes (officially titled highway incidents and includes non-collision incidents) was the most prevalent type of workplace fatality in Arizona (20) in 2007. The decrease from the 32 recorded in 2006 was responsible for most of the decline in the State’s 2007 fatality count. Highway crashes was also the leading cause of workplace fatalities at the national level. In 2007, work-related deaths due to highway crashes accounted for 23 percent of Arizona’s fatalities, little different from the 24 percent attributable to this event nationally.
The number of fatalities caused by falls to a lower level (14) was little changed from the count recorded in 2006. Fatal work injuries from falls to a lower level resulted in 16 percent of on-the-job fatalities in the State and 13 percent nationwide.
Homicides resulted in 7 fatal work injuries, down from the 15 recorded in 2006. The 2007 count was one of the lowest on record since the fatality census began in 1992. Fatalities resulting from homicides have ranged from a low of 6 in 2003 to a series high of 19 recorded in both 1994 and 2001.
Workers caught in or compressed by equipment or objects in Arizona also led to 7 fatalities in 2007. This event accounted for 8 percent of the workplace fatalities in Arizona and 5 percent in the United States in 2007.
Other types of fatal work-related events in the State in 2007 included being struck by an object or equipment (6), and pedestrian, nonpassenger being struck by a vehicle, mobile equipment (5). Contact with electric current and exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances had four fatalities each. (See table 1.)
Nationwide, a total of 5,488 fatal work injuries were reported in 2007, a decrease of 6 percent from the revised total of 5,840 fatal work injuries reported in 2006. While these results are considered preliminary, this figure represents the lowest annual total since the series began in 1992. Highway crashes in 2007 accounted for nearly one out of every four fatal work injuries in the nation and continued to lead all other events in the frequency of on-the-job fatalities. Still, the 2007 count of 1,311 fatal highway crashes was the lowest annual total since 1993. The 2007 total of 733 fatal falls to a lower level was the third highest since the fatality census began, but was slightly lower than the 738 recorded in 2006. The number of workers (504) who were fatally injured from being struck by objects or equipment in 2007 was at the lowest level since the fatality census began and represented a 14-percent decline from the 2006 total. Two other events were also at series lows in 2007—fatal work injuries involving electrocutions (212) and fatalities resulting from fires and explosions (151).
Workplace homicides increased by 13 percent to 610 in 2007 from the series low of 540 that was reported in 2006. Even after the increase, workplace homicides have declined 44 percent from the high of 1,080 reported in 1994.
Key characteristics of fatal work injuries in Arizona
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Men accounted for 88 percent (77) of the work-related fatalities in Arizona in 2007. Eleven women were fatally injured on the job. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail fatalities, was the most prevalent cause of death for both sexes and resulted in 23 and 7 fatalities, respectively. (See table 2.)
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Sixty-six percent of those who died from a workplace injury in Arizona were white, non-Hispanic (58); 28 percent were Hispanic or Latino (25). Transportation incidents was the most frequent type of fatality for both groups. (See table 2.)
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Worker ages 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—made up 63 percent or 55 of the State’s work-related fatalities in 2007. (See table 2.)
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Ninety-two percent of workers killed on the job worked for wages and salaries (81), the rest were self-employed (7). The leading cause of death for both groups was transportation incidents. (See table 2.)
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Two industry sectors made up 33 percent of the workplace fatalities in the State—transportation and warehousing (15) and construction (14). Transportation incidents (9) was the leading fatality event in transportation and warehousing, while falls (6) was the leading event in the construction sector. (See table 3.)
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Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities (27), followed by construction and extraction occupations (17). Combined, these two occupational groups accounted for half of all fatal work injuries in Arizona. Transportation incidents (17) accounted for more than half of the fatal injuries in the transportation, and material moving occupations. Falls (6) was the more frequent fatality event for the construction and maintenance occupations. (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 Western Information Office at 415-625-2270 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT. Information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and other programs and surveys are available on our Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ro9/
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, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.
For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site. To get to that document, click on Workplace Injuries on the BLS home page, scroll down to IIF Documentation, and then click on “BLS Handbook of Methods.” The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part 2 of the BLS Handbook of Methods.
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.
Acknowledgements
BLS thanks the Arizona Industrial Commission 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 entities 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 Federal Railroad Administration; 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.
Detailed statistics on fatal occupational injuries in Arizona can be obtained from tables at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2007/iiffi04.htm
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Last Modified Date: March 3, 2009
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