Fatal work injuries totaled 68 in 2012 for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. 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 Washington metropolitan area increased by six over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the area have ranged from a high of 99 in 2005 to a low of 48 in 2009. The 2012 count represented the highest annual total since 2007. (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.

In 2012, the Washington metropolitan area had the seventh-largest population nationally¹ placed sixth in the number of work-related fatalities among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. (See chart 2.) The most populated area in the country—New York—had the highest number of workplace fatalities (178) in 2012. The smallest of the 10 metropolitan areas—Boston—had the lowest fatality count with 15 deaths. (See chart 4.)

Of the 68 fatal work injuries reported in the Washington metropolitan area in 2012, 21 resulted from transportation incidents; 10 of these were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles and 6 were pedestrian vehicular incidents. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in 7 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in 2012, including Washington. (See table 1.) Among the 10 areas, Washington had the fifth-highest share of work-related fatalities from transportation incidents at 31 percent. (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.)

Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most frequent cause of workplace deaths in the Washington metropolitan area, representing 24 percent of total fatalities. Twelve of these fatalities were a result of falls to a lower level and four were a result of falls on the same level. Atlanta tied Washington’s share of fatal falls, slips, and trips, and only Boston ranked higher with 27 percent of total fatalities.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals, the third-most frequent fatal event in the Washington area in 2012, was responsible for 22 percent of total fatalities. Ten of the 15 fatalities in this group were intentional self-inflicted injuries (suicides). Atlanta (32 percent), Chicago (28 percent), and New York (28 percent) had higher shares of workplace fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals.

In the United States, transportation incidents was also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2012, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries, higher than Washington’s 31-percent share. (See chart 3.) Violence and other injuries was the second-most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, 5 percentage points lower than the share in Washington. Contact with objects and 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 in the Washington area:

• The construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Washington area with 21 in 2012, up from 17 the previous year. (See table 3.) Falls, slips, and trips accounted for six of these worker deaths, followed by transportation incidents and exposure to harmful substances or environments with five fatalities each.
• Government had the second-highest fatality count with 11, up from the 8 fatalities reported in 2011. Within government, violence and other injuries by persons or animals and transportation incidents each accounted for four worker deaths.
• Construction and extraction occupations had the highest fatality count with 15, followed by transportation and material moving occupations with 13. (See table 4.) Seven of the 15 fatalities in construction and extraction occupations were construction laborers. Within the transportation and material moving occupations, 4 of the 13 fatalities were laborers and material movers, hand.
• Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in the metropolitan area. (See table 5.) Transportation incidents were responsible for nearly one-third of these fatalities. Nationally, men made up 92 percent of all fatalities.
• In the Washington metropolitan area, 47 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics; nationally, this group made up 68 percent. Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 25 percent of the area’s fatal injuries, higher than the 16-percent share nationwide.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 50 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2012. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 59 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Forty percent of workers fatally injured in the Washington area in 2012 were age 55 and over.
• Of the 68 people that suffered fatal work injuries in the Washington area, 53, or 78 percent, worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most frequent cause of death among the self-employed.
• One-quarter of all fatalities in the Washington area occurred on a Tuesday.
• 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, the Washington area had 11 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; all were in the private sector. Of these, five fatalities occurred at the location of contracting firms in the residential building construction industry.

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.

Footnotes

¹ Metropolitan area populations based on 2011 estimates from the Census Bureau.

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 District of Columbia Department of Health; Virginia Department of Labor and Industry; and Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of the Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. Metropolitan Division (MD) and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Division (MD).

• The Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. MD consists of Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.
• The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. MD consists of the District of Columbia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by selected event groups in the 10 largest metropolitan areas in 2012(p)

Metropolitan Areas(1)	Total fatalities(2)	Transportation incidents	Falls, slips, trips	Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	Exposure to harmful substances or environments	Contact with objects and equipment
United States(3)	4,383	1,789	668	767	320	712
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	178	49	38	50	14	22
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	90	24	20	13	6	20
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.	81	29	17	16	6	11
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	81	20	16	23	8	8
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	73	25	13	15	9	9
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	68	21	16	15	8	8
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.	64	16	15	10	11	10
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	56	22	10	10	6	7
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.	38	10	9	12	-	4
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.	15	5	4	3	-	2
Footnotes: (1) Metropolitan areas used in this table are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on definitions from the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin Number 10-02, December 2009. (2) Data are based on a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries nationwide for 2012. (3) Also includes fatalities occurring in nonmetropolitan areas. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary.
Note: Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2011-2012

Event or exposure(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	62	68	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	19	15	22
Intentional injury by person	18	14	21
Intentional injury by other person	13	4	6
Shooting by other person--intentional	10	3	4
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	5	10	15
Shooting--intentional self-harm	-	7	10
Animal and insect related incidents	-	1	1
Struck by animal	-	1	1
Kicked by animal	-	1	1
Transportation incidents	17	21	31
Aircraft incidents	-	2	3
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	-	1	1
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	-	1	1
Other in-flight crash	-	1	1
Other in-flight crash between air vehicles	-	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	3	6	9
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	-	3	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle propelled by another vehicle in roadway	-	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	-	2	3
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	10	10	15
Roadway collision with other vehicle	7	6	9
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	-	3	4
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	1	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	-	4	6
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	-	4	6
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	3	3	4
Falls, slips, trips	8	16	24
Falls on same level	-	4	6
Falls to lower level	7	12	18
Other fall to lower level	7	9	13
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	8	8	12
Exposure to electricity	6	3	4
Exposure to temperature extremes	-	4	6
Exposure to environmental heat	-	3	4
Contact with objects and equipment	8	8	12
Struck by object or equipment	5	8	12
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	-	3	4
Struck by rolling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	-	1	1
Struck by object or equipment rolling freely	-	1	1
Struck by swinging or slipping object--other than handheld	-	1	1
Struck by or caught in swinging door or gate	-	1	1
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 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.

 Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected industry, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2011-2012

Industry(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	62	68	100
Private industry	54	57	84
Natural resources and mining	-	3	4
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	-	3	4
Support activities for agriculture and forestry	-	1	1
Construction	17	21	31
Construction	17	21	31
Construction of buildings	-	3	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	-	4	6
Specialty trade contractors	14	12	18
Manufacturing	-	2	3
Manufacturing	-	2	3
Printing and related support activities	-	1	1
Computer and electronic product manufacturing	-	1	1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	15	13	19
Retail trade	5	-	-
Clothing and clothing accessories stores	-	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	6	8	12
Transit and ground passenger transportation	-	4	6
Warehousing and storage	-	1	1
Utilities	-	1	1
Financial activities	-	-	-
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	-	-
Rental and leasing services	-	1	1
Professional and business services	7	6	9
Administrative and waste services	6	4	6
Administrative and support services	6	3	4
Waste management and remediation services	-	1	1
Educational and health services	2	3	4
Educational services	-	2	3
Leisure and hospitality	7	3	4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	-	-	-
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries	-	1	1
Other services, except public administration	3	3	4
Government(3)	8	11	16
Federal government	4	3	4
Local government	4	6	9
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 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.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2011-2012

Occupation(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	62	68	100
Management occupations	5	9	13
Other management occupations	3	8	12
Agricultural managers	-	3	4
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	-	3	4
Miscellaneous managers	-	1	1
Education, training, and library occupations	1	1	1
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers	1	1	1
Elementary and middle school teachers	-	1	1
Elementary school teachers, except special education	-	1	1
Protective service occupations	3	5	7
Law enforcement workers	1	3	4
Police officers	1	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	1	3	4
Other protective service workers	-	2	3
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	-	2	3
Security guards	-	2	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	9	8	12
Grounds maintenance workers	8	8	12
Grounds maintenance workers	8	8	12
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	5	7	10
Personal care and service occupations	1	1	1
Animal care and service workers	-	1	1
Animal trainers	-	1	1
Animal trainers	-	1	1
Sales and related occupations	6	-	-
Supervisors of sales workers	1	-	-
First-line supervisors of sales workers	1	-	-
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	1	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	3	3	4
Construction and extraction occupations	14	15	22
Construction trades workers	11	13	19
Construction laborers	8	7	10
Construction laborers	8	7	10
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	6	9
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	-	5	7
Line installers and repairers	-	3	4
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	-	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	12	13	19
Motor vehicle operators	12	6	9
Bus drivers	-	3	4
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	11	1	1
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	7	1	1
Material moving workers	-	4	6
Laborers and material movers, hand	-	4	6
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	-	3	4
Packers and packagers, hand	-	1	1
Military occupations(3)	-	2	3
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed. (p) Data for 2012 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.

Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2011-2012

Worker characteristics	2011(1)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	62	68	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	47	53	78
Self-employed(3)	15	15	22
Gender
Men	58	61	90
Women	4	7	10
Age(4)
20 to 24 years	4	5	7
25 to 34 years	10	10	15
35 to 44 years	18	10	15
45 to 54 years	9	14	21
55 to 64 years	8	14	21
65 and over	11	13	19
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	22	32	47
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	24	12	18
Hispanic or Latino	14	17	25
Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	-	6	9
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 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.