150 Workers Die Every Day From Injuries or Occupational Diseases According To New Report on Worker Safety and Health

In 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job, according to a new AFL-CIO report, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.”

That is an average of thirteen workers every day. In addition, another estimated 50,000 die every year from occupational diseases – an average of 137 a day, bringing the total worker fatalities to 150 a day. North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Arkansas had the highest workplace fatality rates, while New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Washington had the lowest. Latino workers, especially those born outside of the United States, continue to face rates of workplace fatalities fourteen percent higher than other workers, the same as last year.

In 2011, 3.8 million workers across all industries experienced work-related illnesses and injuries. The true toll is estimated to be two to three times greater, but lack of reporting in this area results in lower official figures.

The job fatality rate had been declining steadily for many years, but in the past three years the rate has essentially been unchanged, at 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Similarly, for the past two years, there has been no change in the reported workplace injury and illness rate (3.5 per 100 workers). If we are to make progress in reducing job injuries and deaths, we will need more concerted efforts and additional resources.

This year’s report comes on the heels of a horrific explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, which killed 15 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread destruction, as well as the tragic collapse of a building that housed garment factories in Bangladesh, which led to the death of over six hundred workers.

The report also examines the role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 43 years after its creation. It finds that OSHA remains underfunded and understaffed, and that penalties are too low to deter violations. Because of the underfunding, federal OSHA inspectors can only inspect workplaces once every 131 years on average, and state OSHA inspectors would take 76 years to inspect all workplaces.

OSHA penalties are too low to be taken seriously, let alone provide deterrence. The average penalty is only $2,156 for a serious federal health and safety violation, and only $974 for a state violation. Even in cases involving worker fatalities, the median total penalty was a paltry $5,175 for federal OSHA and $4,200 for the OSHA state plans. By contrast, property damage valued between $300 and $10,000 in the state of Illinois is considered a Class 4 felony and can carry a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years and a fine of up to $25,000.

Criminal penalties under OSHA are also weak. While there were 320 criminal enforcement cases initiated under federal environmental laws and 231 defendants charged in FY 2012, only 84 cases related to worker deaths have been prosecuted since 1970.

In the face of an ongoing assault on regulations by business groups and Republicans in Congress, progress on many new important safety and health rules has stalled. The White House Office of Management and Budget has delayed needed protections, including OSHA’s draft proposed silica rule, which has been held up for more than two years.

“In 2013, it is unacceptable that so many hardworking men and women continue to die on the job,” said AFL-CIO President and third-generation coal miner Richard Trumka. “No one should have to sacrifice his or her life or health and safety in order to earn a decent living. Yet, elected leaders, business groups and employers have failed to provide adequate health and safety protections for working families. At the same time, too many politicians and business leaders are actively working to dismantle working people’s right to collectively bargain on the job and speak out against unsafe, unjust working conditions. This is a disgrace to all those who have died. America’s workers deserve better.”

“Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” was released after hundreds of Workers Memorial Day vigils, rallies and action were held across the country to commemorate all those workers who died and were injured on the job.

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Occupational data in medical billing records could prevent workplace injuries

Photo:artur84/freedigitalphotos.net

A subtle change to hospital data collection policies could make a big difference in preventing occupational health and safety hazards, according to workplace safety researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health.

In a new article published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the researchers call on industry, occupational medicine and public health communities to support a change to data collection methods to include industry and occupation data.

Every year, nearly four million Americans suffer a workplace injury, yet hospitals in the United States do not currently track and report these incidents. The estimated number of workplace injuries is based on probability samples, which underestimate the true extent of workplace injuries. These estimates also have significant gaps when it comes to tracking details about types of injuries and how, when and why specific injuries occur – which are essential details to inform prevention efforts. If this information were collected on every patient, physicians, researchers and payors would be able to accurately describe occupational injuries and illnesses, and support prevention initiatives.

"This is one of the most important policy initiatives I've worked on," said Dr. Jennifer Taylor, an assistant professor at Drexel and an author of the new paper. "If we could get industry and occupation information from everyone who seeks care in a hospital, we would have a really good handle on how many injuries and illnesses there are. This would enable us as a nation to develop evidenced-based prevention strategies to address the hazards of work."

Aggregate data collected from hospital and emergency department records are used routinely in public health activities. Adding a standard process for recording data about patients' industry and occupation would ultimately facilitate the collection of important information from every patient in the U.S. who is admitted to the hospital or seen in an emergency department, the authors point out.

The impetus for initiating industry and occupation data collection began with the Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST) project, a FEMA-funded grant project led by Taylor, on which co-author Leslie Frey works as a policy coordinator. (http://publichealth.drexel.edu/first/)

Taylor and Frey argue that the benefits of collecting industry and occupation data extend to not only firefighters, but to every American who works.

In the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine paper, Taylor and Frey discuss the benefits of industry and occupation data collection when treating injuries and illnesses and describe processes and coding standards by which such data could be added to hospital discharge data. They highlight case studies, such as a program at Michigan State University that tracked amputations related to workplace injuries, and led to detection of occupational hazards.

Taylor and Frey acknowledge that there will be some costs associated with additional data collection. However, by recommending the use of existing federal standard codes for occupation and industry data, they note that the data collection can proceed with a minimal cost and effort to hospitals.

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EPA Takes Action Against Violators of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

Today, EPA announced 17 enforcement actions for violations of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP).

The RRP rule protects homeowners and tenants from dangerous lead dust that can be left behind after common renovation, repair, and painting work. It requires that contractors and subcontractors be properly trained and certified, and use lead-safe work practices to ensure that lead dust is minimized. Lead exposure can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to seizures and death, putting young children at the greatest risk because their nervous systems are still developing. 

“Using lead-safe work practices is good business and it’s the law,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA is taking action to enforce lead rules to protect people from exposure to lead and to ensure a level playing field for contractors that follow the rules.”

The enforcement actions address serious violations of the RRP rule, including fourteen actions where the contractor failed to obtain certification prior to performing or offering to perform renovation activities on pre-1978 homes, where lead is more likely to be present. Other alleged violations included failure to follow the lead-safe work practices, which are critical to reducing exposure to lead-based paint hazards.

The 17 enforcement actions listed below include 14 administrative settlements assessing civil penalties of up to $23,000. These settlements also required the contractors to certify that they had come into compliance with the requirements of the RRP rule. Additionally, EPA filed three administrative complaints seeking civil penalties of up to the statutory maximum of $37,500 per violation. As required by the Toxic Substances Control Act, a company or individual’s ability to pay a penalty is evaluated and penalties are adjusted accordingly.

Enforcement actions:

•    Groeller Painting, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri.
•    Albracht Permasiding and Window, Co. of Omaha, Nebraska.
•    Midwest College Painters, LLC of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
•    ARK Property Investments, LLC of Richmond, Indiana.
•    Henderson & Associates Services of Largo, Florida.
•    Home Resources Management, LLC of Columbia, Tennessee.
•    Camaj Interiors & Exteriors of Jacksonville, Florida.
•    Cherokee Home Improvements, LLC of Church Creek, Maryland.
•    Window World of Harford located in Belair, Maryland.  
•    EA Construction and General Contracting of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
•    Roman Builders of Morton, Pennsylvania.  
•    Accolade Construction Group, Inc. of New York, New York.
•    PZ Painting of Springfield, New Jersey.  
•    Creative Renovations of Brooklyn, New York.
•    Reeson Construction of Webster, New Hampshire.
•    New Hampshire Plate Glass Corporation of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
•    CM Rogers Handyman of Manchester, New Hampshire. 

Escambia Co. Workers Hospitalized for Chemical Exposure

Source: AP

Four workers at an Escambia County office complex in Pensacola, Florida were hospitalized and the building was briefly evacuated after workers smelled apparent chemical fumes from a nearby laboratory.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that the building reopened Wednesday afternoon after it was deemed safe by the county's hazardous-materials unit.

Escambia County spokesman Bill Pearson says the smell began on the first floor near a laboratory used for water sampling.

Officials said exposure to the chemical can cause burning of the eyes and throat and vomiting but that the chemical is not life-threatening.

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