Fatal work injuries totaled 24 in 2012 for the Pittsburgh, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2012 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in the Pittsburgh area declined by five over the year and was the lowest count since area data were first published in 2003. Fatal occupational injuries in the area were the highest in 2008 with 45 worker deaths. (See chart 1.)

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

Of the 24 fatal work injuries reported in the Pittsburgh area in 2012, 7 resulted from transportation incidents and 6 resulted from falls, slips, and trips; together, these 2 major categories made up 54 percent of the area’s fatality total in 2012. Over the year, each of these categories declined by one with transportation incidents reporting eight fatalities in 2011 and falls, slips, and trips reporting seven. Exposure to harmful substances or environments and contact with objects and equipment accounted for four worker fatalities each in 2012. (See table 1. Note that transportation counts presented 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 was also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2012, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. In Pittsburgh, the share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was 29 percent. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities; the share in Pittsburgh was lower at 13 percent. Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent event in the nation, representing 16 percent of worker fatalities; in Pittsburgh, this event accounted for 17 percent of total fatalities.

Additional key characteristics in the Pittsburgh area:

• The construction industry had the largest number of fatalities in the Pittsburgh area with 6 in 2012, down from 10 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls to lower levels accounted for three of these worker deaths.
• The administrative and waste services sector had the second-highest fatality count in the area with four, up from three in 2011. 
• Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in the Pittsburgh area with six. Three of these fatalities were roofers. (See table 3.) The transportation and material moving occupational group had the area’s next-highest workplace fatality count with five.  
• Men accounted for 83 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Pittsburgh area. (See table 4.) Men made up 92 percent of the total nationwide.
• In the Pittsburgh area, 92 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics; nationally, this group made up 68 percent.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 58 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2012, similar to the 59-percent share nationwide.  
• Of the 24 fatally-injured workers in the area, 21, or 88 percent, worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The most frequent fatal events for wage and salary workers were transportation incidents and falls, slips, and trips, each accounting for six fatalities.
• The highest number of fatal workplace injuries in the Pittsburgh area occurred on Tuesday, with one-third of all worker fatalities in the area occurring on this day. Nationally, fatalities on this day represented 17 percent of the total.
• In 2011, CFOI began identifying if a fatally-injured worker was working as a contractor and recording the industry of both the worker and the contracting firm. A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2012, Pittsburgh had seven fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; all were in the private sector. Of these, two were a result of being struck by a powered vehicle, nontransport.  

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 (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 and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

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.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 2009. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at https://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Pittsburgh, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is composed of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Pittsburgh, Pa, 2011-2012

Event or exposure(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	24	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	4	3	12
Intentional injury by person	4	3	12
Intentional injury by other person	3	2	8
Shooting by other person--intentional	3	2	8
Transportation incidents	8	7	29
Pedestrian vehicular incident	-	4	17
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	-	1	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in roadway	-	1	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	-	2	8
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	-	1	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	-	1	4
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	6	2	8
Roadway collision with other vehicle	5	1	4
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	1	1	4
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	1	1	4
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	1	1	4
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	-	1	4
Nonroadway noncollision incident	-	1	4
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	-	1	4
Falls, slips, trips	7	6	25
Falls to lower level	7	5	21
Other fall to lower level	6	4	17
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	-	1	4
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	-	4	17
Exposure to electricity	1	2	8
Direct exposure to electricity	-	2	8
Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	-	2	8
Contact with objects and equipment	7	4	17
Struck by object or equipment	3	3	12
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	1	3	12
Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object	-	1	4
Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle	-	2	8
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	1	1	4
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released 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.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Pittsburgh, Pa, 2011-2012

Industry(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	24	100
Private industry	27	23	96
Goods-producing	13	9	38
Natural resources and mining	1	1	4
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	1	1	4
Crop production	-	1	4
Other crop farming	-	1	4
All other crop farming	-	1	4
Construction	10	6	25
Construction	10	6	25
Heavy and civil engineering construction	1	1	4
Utility system construction	1	1	4
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	1	1	4
Specialty trade contractors	7	5	21
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	1	3	12
Roofing contractors	1	3	12
Residential roofing contractors	1	1	4
Building equipment contractors	-	1	4
Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	1	4
Nonresidential electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	1	4
Manufacturing	2	-	-
Manufacturing	2	-	-
Primary metal manufacturing	1	1	4
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing	-	1	4
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing	-	1	4
Iron and steel mills	-	1	4
Service-providing	14	14	58
Trade, transportation, and utilities	8	6	25
Wholesale trade	3	-	-
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	2	1	4
Metal and mineral (except petroleum) merchant wholesalers	-	1	4
Metal service centers and other metal merchant wholesalers	-	1	4
Retail trade	-	-	-
Miscellaneous store retailers	-	1	4
Used merchandise stores	-	1	4
Used merchandise stores	-	1	4
Transportation and warehousing	5	2	8
Transit and ground passenger transportation	1	2	8
School and employee bus transportation	-	2	8
School and employee bus transportation	-	2	8
Professional and business services	3	5	21
Professional, scientific, and technical services	-	1	4
Architectural, engineering, and related services	-	1	4
Engineering services	-	1	4
Administrative and waste services	3	4	17
Administrative and support services	3	3	12
Investigation and security services	-	1	4
Investigation, guard, and armored car services	-	1	4
Armored car services	-	1	4
Services to buildings and dwellings	2	2	8
Landscaping services	2	2	8
Educational and health services	1	-	-
Health care and social assistance	1	-	-
Hospitals	1	1	4
Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals	-	1	4
Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals	-	1	4
Government(3)	2	1	4
State government	-	1	4
Service-providing	-	1	4
Public administration	-	1	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	1	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	1	4
Police protection	-	1	4
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released 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.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Pittsburgh, Pa, 2011-2012

Occupation(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	24	100
Management occupations	-	3	12
Top executives	-	1	4
Chief executives	-	1	4
Chief executives	-	1	4
Other management occupations	-	-	-
Agricultural managers	-	1	4
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	-	1	4
Community and social services occupations	-	1	4
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists	-	1	4
Counselors	-	1	4
Mental health counselors	-	1	4
Protective service occupations	3	2	8
Law enforcement workers	2	1	4
Police officers	2	1	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	2	1	4
Other protective service workers	1	1	4
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	1	1	4
Security guards	1	1	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	2	2	8
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	1	4
First-line supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	1	4
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	-	1	4
Grounds maintenance workers	2	1	4
Grounds maintenance workers	2	1	4
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	-	1	4
Sales and related occupations	-	1	4
Supervisors of sales workers	-	1	4
First-line supervisors of sales workers	-	1	4
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	-	1	4
Construction and extraction occupations	10	6	25
Construction trades workers	7	4	17
Roofers	-	3	12
Roofers	-	3	12
Other construction and related workers	-	-	-
Construction and building inspectors	-	1	4
Construction and building inspectors	-	1	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	-	1	4
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	1	4
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	-	1	4
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines	-	1	4
Production occupations	-	-	-
Metal workers and plastic workers	-	1	4
Miscellaneous metalworkers and plastic workers	-	1	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	8	5	21
Motor vehicle operators	7	3	12
Bus drivers	1	1	4
Bus drivers, school or special client	-	1	4
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	5	1	4
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	4	1	4
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	-	1	4
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	-	1	4
Material moving workers	1	2	8
Crane and tower operators	-	1	4
Crane and tower operators	-	1	4
Laborers and material movers, hand	-	1	4
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	-	1	4
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data for 2011 and 2012 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released 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.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Pittsburgh, Pa, 2011-2012

Characteristic	2011(1)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	24	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	24	21	88
Self-employed(3)	5	3	12
Gender
Men	28	20	83
Women	1	4	17
Age(4)
25 to 34 years	3	4	17
35 to 44 years	3	2	8
45 to 54 years	8	8	33
55 to 64 years	10	4	17
65 and over	4	6	25
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	25	22	92
Footnotes: (1) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) 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. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released 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.