Injuries and illnesses of line installers and repairers

From 2011 to 2015, an average of nearly 6,000 line installers and repairers experienced nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses each year. The number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses of electrical power-line installers and repairers averaged 2,300 over this period, while telecommunications line installers and repairers averaged 3,600 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses.

Line installers and repairers comprise two distinct, but related, occupations. Electrical power-line installers and repairers install or repair high-voltage cables and related equipment. Telecommunications line installers and repairers work on telecommunication cables used to provide cable, Internet, and telephone services.

During the 2011–2015 period, line installers and repairers suffered 201 fatal occupational injuries, about 40 per year, with little year-to-year variation. The 131 fatal injuries for electrical power-line installers and repairers was approximately twice that of the 70 fatalities among telecommunications line installers and repairers. The fatal injuries of workers in the latter occupation showed greater year-to-year variation, ranging from 10 in 2012 to 19 in 2014.

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see Workplace hazards facing line installers and repairers, in the Monthly Labor Review, February 2018.