>Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 16:19:44 -0400
>From: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: SafetyFlash
>Sender: Safety <[log in to unmask]>
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>
>     Good Day,
>
>     Welcome to SafetyFlash--a free safety update service that gives you
>     access to critical and late-breaking safety-related news and
>     information. SafetyFlash will alert you to new and changing OSHA
>     regulations, legislative developments, and other items that impact
>     your role as a safety professional.
>
>     Workplace Fatality Rate
>     Drops 3 Percent;
>     Homicides Down 18 Percent
>
>     The number of fatal work injuries dropped 3 percent in 1998 to a total
>     of 6,026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal
>     Occupational Injuries. The 1998 total represents the lowest count in
>     the seven-year history of the fatality census. A large portion of the
>     decline is attributed to an 18 percent drop in job-related homicides.
>     The number of fatalities from workers being struck by falling objects
>     or caught in running machinery also fell from their 1997 totals.
>
>     In contrast, highway crashes continued to be the leading cause of
>     on-the-job fatalities during 1998, accounting for 24 percent of the
>     fatal work injury total. The number of these fatalities increased
>     slightly over their 1997 total to reach the highest level since 1992.
>     This rise resulted primarily from an increase in the number of workers
>     killed in highway crashes between oncoming vehicles. Slightly over
>     two-fifths of the 1,431 victims of job-related highway fatalities were
>     employed as truckdrivers. The number of workers fatally struck by
>     vehicles rose to 413, an increase of 13 percent from the 1997 total
>     and the highest number in the seven-year period since the census
>     began. Highway-related incidents were also the leading cause of
>     job-related fatalities among men.
>
>     The second leading cause of on-the-job deaths, workplace homicides,
>     fell to its lowest level since 1992. A total of 709 workers died as a
>     result of job-related homicide in 1998 compared with 1,080 in 1994.
>     The drop in homicide at work was most pronounced in retail trade,
>     where homicides fell by 46 percent from 1994. Homicides were the
>     leading cause of fatal injuries among women workers.
>
>     In 1998, deaths resulting from on-the-job falls totaled 702, nearly
>     the same as the total of worker homicides. Modest increases in falls
>     from roofs and scaffolds resulted in seven-year highs for both
>     categories. Most of the worker deaths resulting from falls from roofs
>     and scaffolds occurred in the construction industry, which accounts
>     for about half the fatal workplace falls each year. Electrocutions
>     accounted for 6 percent of the fatal injuries and increased by 12
>     percent from 1997. Contact with overhead power lines accounted for
>     about half the deaths from electrocution.
>
>     Overall, the construction industry reported the largest number of
>     fatal work injuries of any industry and accounted for nearly one-fifth
>     of the fatality total in 1998. In addition, two-fifths of worker
>     fatalities among 17-year-olds occurred in the construction industry.
>
>     By occupation, fatal injuries to truckdrivers were at their highest
>     level since 1992. In contrast, the number of fatalities in sales
>     occupations fell to its lowest level during the same period, primarily
>     because of the drop in homicides.
>
>     On average, about 17 workers were fatally injured each day during
>     1998. The census shows that 84 percent of injured workers died the day
>     they were injured and 97 percent died within 30 days. There were 227
>     multiple-fatality incidents (incidents that resulted in two or more
>     worker deaths), resulting in 555 job-related deaths. This was a slight
>     increase over the number of multiple-fatality events reported for
>     1997, when 220 incidents resulted in 544 deaths.
>
>     Three of the largest states--California, Texas, and Florida--accounted
>     for one-fourth of the total fatalities in 1998.
>
>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     SafetyFlash is provided by Safety Compliance Letter, a Bureau of
>     Business Practice newsletter. For subscription information, contact
>     our Customer Support department at 1-800-243-0876, Extension 6, or
>     visit our Web site at bbpnews.com/safety-BBP.
>
>     Michele Rubin
>     Senior Editor, Safety Compliance Letter
>     [log in to unmask]
>     (800) 243-0876, extension 6
>
>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>


___________________________________________________
Randall L. Hormann
Fire/Safety Specialist
Miami University, Ohio

6 Hughes Hall (EHSO), Oxford, Ohio 45056
Office: 513-529-2461, Fax: 513-529-2830
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]

State:   Fire Safety Inspector - Instructor (Ohio)
Chair:   International Association of Campus Fire Safety Officials/
         Fire Safety Professionals @ Ohio Colleges and Universities
Member:  Ohio Fire Chiefs Assoc., Fire Code Committee.
Member:  Ohio Fire Officials Association.
Advisor: Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Fraternity.
Advisor: Alpha Lambda Delta / Phi Eta Sigma - National Honor Society.

___________________________________________________