Fatal work injuries totaled 219 in 2010 for Pennsylvania, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2010 count is preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Pennsylvania had risen by 51 from the series low one year earlier. Despite the recent increase, the 2010 count was among the lowest in the 19-year history of the series. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 354 in 1994 to 2009’s low of 168. (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 fatal work injuries 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 Pennsylvania in 2010, accounting for 45 deaths. (See table 2.) Highway incidents has been the most frequent fatal event in Pennsylvania for 17 of the 19 years in the series, and has ranged from a low of 35 in 2009 to a high of 66 in 1997. Fatalities due to falls to lower levels increased from 27 in 2009 to 40 in 2010. Work-related homicides totaled 24 in 2010, unchanged since 2008. Work-related fatalities resulting from being struck by an object or equipment increased from 17 to 22 over the year.

Pennsylvania’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to highway incidents was 21 percent in 2010, equal to the proportion in the United States, where it was also the most frequent fatal workplace event. Falls to a lower level was the second most frequent event both in Pennsylvania and nationwide, accounting for 18 percent of the Commonwealth’s occupational fatalities and 11 percent of the nation’s. Homicides and being struck by objects or equipment were the next most frequent types of events both in Pennsylvania, with respective shares of 11 and 10 percent of work-related fatalities, and nationwide, where they represented 11 and 9 percent of workplace deaths, respectively.

Additional key characteristics:

• Men accounted for 199, or 91 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, made up more than one-third of these fatalities. (See table 3.)
• In Pennsylvania, 84 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 119, or 54 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 219 occupational fatalities in Pennsylvania, 84 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining workers were self-employed. The leading cause of death for both groups was transportation incidents.
• The construction sector and the transportation and warehousing sector had the largest number of fatalities at 39 each, followed by government with 21. Falls accounted for the most worker deaths in construction, 21, while transportation incidents led with 25 fatalities in transportation and warehousing and 9 fatalities in government.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 57, slightly over half of which were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (29). Workers in construction and extraction occupations had the second-highest fatality count at 49, followed by those in production jobs at 22.
• Among the Commonwealth’s metropolitan areas, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. registered the highest number of work-related fatalities at 70, followed by Pittsburgh, Pa. at 40. (See chart 2.)

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif. For personal assistance or further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and other programs and surveys are available on our Web site at www.bls.gov/ro3.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI 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 and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site here: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9.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. BLS thanks the Pennsylvania Department of Health for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also 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 Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 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.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries in Pennsylvania by selected event groups, 1992–2010

Year	Total fatalities	Highway incidents		Falls to a lower level		Homicides		Struck by object or equipment
		Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
1992	242	44	18	30	12	38	16	18	7
1993	241	41	17	21	9	44	18	24	10
1994	354	57	16	42	12	28	8	22	6
1995	233	48	21	23	10	27	12	15	6
1996	282	51	18	42	15	33	12	39	14
1997	259	66	25	33	13	27	10	25	10
1998	235	59	25	19	8	21	9	25	11
1999	221	56	25	31	14	15	7	24	11
2000	199	41	21	27	14	22	11	24	12
2001	225	41	18	24	11	26	12	24	11
2002	188	43	23	21	11	14	7	16	9
2003	208	41	20	22	11	28	13	17	8
2004	230	56	24	30	13	23	10	33	14
2005	224	60	27	26	12	28	13	21	9
2006	240	49	20	31	13	27	11	30	13
2007	220	64	29	29	13	32	15	22	10
2008	241	47	20	29	12	24	10	26	11
2009	168	35	21	27	16	24	14	17	10
2010	219	45	21	40	18	24	11	22	10
NOTE: Total fatalities in 1994 include a single, catastrophic airplane crash that claimed the lives of 101 persons in work status. Totals for 2001 exclude fatalities from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Preliminary 2009 data issued August 19, 2010, reported a total of 166 fatal work injuries in Pennsylvania for calendar year 2009. Since then, an additional 2 job-related fatal injuries were identified, bringing the total job-related fatal injury count for 2009 to 168. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Pennsylvania, 2009–2010

Event or exposure(1)	2009	2010
	Number		Percent
Total	168	219	100
Transportation incidents	56	78	36
Highway	35	45	21
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment	20	19	9
Moving in same direction	6	3	1
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming	5	8	4
Moving in intersection	4	3	1
Vehicle struck object on side of road	13	24	11
Overturned	4	6	3
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises)	7	11	5
Worker struck by a vehicle	12	16	7
Assaults and violent acts	37	39	18
Homicides	24	24	11
Shooting	23	17	8
Self-inflicted injuries	11	12	5
Contact with objects and equipment	25	36	16
Struck by object or equipment	17	22	10
Struck by falling object or equipment	11	14	6
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	7	10	5
Caught in running equipment or machinery	4	--	--
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials	--	3	1
Falls	31	46	21
Fall to lower level	27	40	18
Fall from ladder	5	8	4
Fall from roof	8	10	5
Fall from scaffold, staging	--	4	2
Fall on same level	--	5	2
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	14	13	6
Contact with electric current	3	8	4
Contact with overhead power lines	--	6	3
Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances	8	--	--
Fires and explosions	5	7	3
Footnotes: (1) Based on the 2007 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Manual. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in addition to those shown separately.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do meet publication criteria. Preliminary 2009 data issued August 19, 2010, reported a total of 166 fatal work injuries in Pennsylvania for calendar year 2009. Since then, an additional 2 job-related fatal injuries were identified, bringing the total job-related fatal injury count for 2009 to 168. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Pennsylvania, 2009–2010

Worker characteristics	2009	2010
	Number		Percent
Total	168	219	100
Employee Status
Wage and salary workers(1)	130	184	84
Self-employed(2)	38	35	16
Gender
Men	154	199	91
Women	14	20	9
Age(3)
20 to 24 years	6	8	4
25 to 34 years	30	23	11
35 to 44 years	27	41	19
45 to 54 years	46	55	25
55 to 64 years	28	43	20
65 years and over	29	44	20
Race or Ethnic Origin(4)
White, non-Hispanic	139	183	84
Black, non-Hispanic	14	18	8
Hispanic or Latino	10	13	6
Asian	5	4	2
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) Because there may have been no incidents reported for some ages or because the data do not meet publication criteria, information is not available for all age groups. In addition, some fatalities may have had insufficient information with which to determine the age of the decedents. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do meet publication criteria. Preliminary 2009 data issued August 19, 2010, reported a total of 166 fatal work injuries in Pennsylvania for calendar year 2009. Since then, an additional 2 job-related fatal injuries were identified, bringing the total job-related fatal injury count for 2009 to 168. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

 

Last Modified Date: October 27, 2011