Fatal work injuries totaled 36 in 2010 for South Dakota, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that while the 2010 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in South Dakota had risen by 12 from one year earlier. Fatal occupational injuries in the State have ranged from a high of 46 in 1999 to a low of 22 in 2007. (See table 1 and chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2010, about the same as the final count of 4,551 fatalities recorded in 2009, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2010 CFOI data will be released in Spring 2012.

Highway incidents were the most frequent type of workplace fatality in South Dakota in 2010, accounting for 9 deaths. (See table 2.) Following a series high of 11 deaths in both 2005 and 2006, the number of fatalities in this category recorded a series low (4) in 2007. Fatalities due to nonhighway transportation incidents increased from 3 to 7 in 2010. Falls to lower levels and being caught in or crushed in collapsing materials each recorded 5 fatalities in 2010.

In the United States, highway incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 21 percent of fatal work injuries. South Dakota’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was 25 percent. Nationwide, falls to a lower level and homicides were the next most frequent types of events, each with 11 percent of all work-related fatalities, followed by being struck by an object or equipment (9 percent). In contrast, the State did not have a disclosable fatality for homicides at work or from being struck by an object or equipment. Falls to a lower level accounted for 14 percent of occupational fatalities in South Dakota.

Additional key characteristics:

• Men accounted for 35, or 97 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the State. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, made up one –half of these fatalities. (See table 3.)
• In South Dakota, 92 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 72 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 17, or 47 percent, of the State’s work-related fatalities in 2010. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 36 occupational fatalities in South Dakota, 61 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The leading cause of death for both groups was transportation incidents.
• The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities, 14, followed by construction (7). Transportation incidents and contact with objects and equipment each accounted for 7 of the worker deaths in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting.
• Management; farming, fishing, and forestry; and construction and extraction occupations all had the highest counts for workplace fatalities, each with 7. Workers in transportation and material moving occupations had the next-highest fatality count at 5.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif/. Further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, is available on the Midwest Information Office web site at www.bls.gov/ro5/ or by contacting us at 312-353-1880 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

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. during the 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm. The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part III 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.

Acknowledgments.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics 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.