Fatal work injuries totaled 15 in 2012 for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. metropolitan area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that while the 2012 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Boston decreased by 29 over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the metropolitan area have ranged from a series high of 49 in 2005 to this year’s low of 15. The previous series low of 35 was recorded in 2010. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2012, down from a final count of 4,693 fatalities recorded in 2011, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2012 CFOI data will be released in late Spring 2014.

Of the 15 fatal work injuries reported in Boston in 2012, transportation incidents resulted in 5 deaths while falls, slips, and trips were responsible for 4 deaths; together these two major categories accounted for nearly two-thirds of all fatal work injuries. (See table 1.) All of the fatalities within the falls, slips, and trips category were caused by falls to a lower level. Other major event categories each reported three or fewer deaths. (Note that transportation counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2012 data are released in Spring 2014 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)

In the United States, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2012, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. Boston’s 33-percent share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was below the nationwide share. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries was the second-most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities; this was lower than the share in Boston. Contact with objects or equipment (16 percent) and falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) were the third and fourth most frequent events, respectively, in the nation. 

Additional key characteristics:

Nine of the 15 workplace fatalities in Boston occurred in private industry. (See table 2.) Of these nine fatalities, three were in the professional and business services sector, and all within the Administrative and waste services industry. 

Workplace deaths among workers in the government sector totaled six in 2012, little changed from the five recorded in 2011. Transportation incidents accounted for two-thirds of the worker deaths within this sector.

Protective service occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with four. (See table 3.) Two of these fatalities were law enforcement workers. Workers in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations and transportation and material moving occupations had the next highest fatality count at three each.

Men accounted for 13, or 87 percent, of the work-related fatalities in Boston. (See table 4.)

In Boston, 20 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were Black or African-American (non-Hispanic). Nationwide, this group accounted for 10 percent of work-related deaths.

Nearly three-quarters of the on-the-job fatalities in Boston in 2012 were among workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group. In 2011, workers aged 55 and over accounted for almost half of the local area’s workplace fatalities.

Of the 15 persons that suffered fatal work injuries in Boston, 87 percent worked for wages and salaries, the remaining were self-employed.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

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 United States 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/soii/home.htm.

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.

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, in particular the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area (NECTA) includes nine NECTA divisions--subdivisions of the larger NECTA which function as distinct social, economic, and cultural areas within the larger region. The NECTA divisions that compose the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH NECTA include: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA, Framingham, MA, Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH, Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, MA-NH, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH, Nashua, NH-MA, Peabody, MA, Taunton-Norton-Raynham, MA, and select cities and towns within. 

 

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, 2011-2012

Event or Exposure(1)	2011	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	44	15	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	13	3	20
Intentional injury by person	12	3	20
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	8	--	--
Shooting--intentional self-harm	--	1	7
Transportation incidents	14	5	33
Water vehicle incident	1	1	7
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	9	1	7
Fire or explosion	1	1	7
Fall, slip, trip	11	4	27
Fall to lower level	10	4	27
Other fall to lower level	8	3	20
Other fall to lower level 16-20 feet	--	1	7
Contact with objects and equipment	3	2	13
Struck by object or equipment	1	2	13
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	1	1	7
Struck by rolling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	--	1	7
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, 2011-2012

Industry(1)	2011	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	44	15	100
Private industry	39	9	60
Natural resources and mining	1	1	7
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	1	1	7
Crop production	--	1	7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	9	2	13
Wholesale trade	--	1	7
Mercant wholesalers, nondurable goods	--	1	7
Transportation and warehousing	6	1	7
Support activities for transportation	1	1	7
Professional and business services	4	3	20
Administrative and wasted services	4	3	20
Administrative and support services	--	3	20
Government(2)	5	6	40
Local government	4	4	27
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Includes all fatal occupational injuries meeting this ownership criterion across all specified years, regardless of industry classification system. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, 2011-2012

Occupation(1)	2011	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	44	15	100
Protective service occupations	2	4	27
Law enforcement workers	1	2	13
Other protective service workers	--	1	7
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3	3	20
Farming, fishing, and forestry workers	1	1	7
Agricultural workers	--	1	7
Transportation and material moving occupations	13	3	20
Motor vehicle operators	8	1	7
Water transportation workers	--	1	7
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, 2011-2012

Worker characteristics	2011	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	44	15	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(1)	40	13	87
Self-employed(2)	4	--	--
Gender
Women	4	2	13
Men	40	13	87
Age(3)
25 to 34 years	8	3	20
35 to 44 years	8	4	27
45 to 54 years	8	4	27
55 to 64 years	16	--	--
65 years and over	4	--	--
Race or ethnic origin(4)
White (non-Hispanic)	30	12	80
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	4	3	20
Hispanic or Latino	8	--	--
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (2) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. (3) Information may not be available for all age groups. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The racial categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries