Worker deaths fall for state, nation

Monday, Aug. 21, 2000 | 11:37 a.m.

The number of work-related deaths fell both nationally and statewide in 1999, continuing a 10-year trend, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Nationwide, there were 6,023 occupational fatalities in 1999, down from 6,055 in 1998 and down from the 1994-1998 average of 6,280 death per year.

The small reduction in the number of workplace deaths came as the number of jobs in the United States grew from about 112 million in 1994 to 135 million in 1999.

Nevada's numbers mirrored the national statistics. The number of workplace deaths recorded by the state Occupational Safety and Enforcement Section dropped from 60 in 1998 to 57 last year.

The numbers of workers also increased in Nevada while the number of fatalities fell. According to the Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation, there were 923,000 workers statewide in 1998, and 976,000 workers in 1999.

The breakdown of accidents also roughly corresponded with the national statistics. In 1999, 37 percent of Nevada workers killed on the job died in transportation accidents, 18 percent died in workplace homicides, 19 percent by electrocution or contact with equipment, 18 percent by falls and 8 percent for other reasons.

Jan Rosenberg, chief administrative officer for the Nevada Safety Consultation and Training Section, said the state is targeting the top worker-death categories.

Later this year, his agency will offer a defensive driving program for employees and employers. A training program on workplace violence has been updated to give managers and human resource administrators a better idea of factors contributing to those incidents, Rosenberg said.

And the state agency, a section of the Division of Industrial Relations, is putting rules and advice on preventing accidents such as falls on the Internet, he said.

A big part of the national decline comes from the reduction in workplace homicides, down 10 percent nationally last year and 40 percent over the last six years. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a Labor Department agency, has worked with retailers and taxi companies to prevent violence on the job, said U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman.

"These efforts are clearly working," he said.

Construction accidents, which account for 20 percent of all workplace fatalities, remain a problem, Herman said.

"We still have a lot of work to do to reduce workplace fatalities, especially in construction," agreed William Rodgers, the Labor Department chief economist.

A contributing factor for accidents and deaths throughout all industries but especially in construction is that some new employees go to work quickly and without enough training, Rodgers said.

"We don't have a worker shortage, we have a skills shortage," he said. "Some companies are bringing their workers right on line with minimal training."