Fatal work injuries totaled 72 in 2017 for Iowa, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Iowa was down from 76 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 110 in 1992 to a low of 54 in 1995. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Iowa, transportation incidents resulted in 40 fatal work injuries and contact with objects or equipment accounted for 16 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 78 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Over the year, the number of worker deaths from transportation incidents increased from 36, while worker fatalities due to contact with objects or equipment increased from 11.

Falls, slips, or trips was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 8 fatalities, down from 15 in the prior year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in six work-related deaths compared to eight in 2016.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry had the largest number of fatalities in Iowa with 21, compared to 19 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in the industry with 10 worker deaths followed by contact with objects or equipment with 9 worker deaths. Almost all (19) of those fatally injured in this industry worked in the crop production sector.

The private transportation and warehousing industry had 12 workplace fatalities, compared to 10 in the previous year. The truck transportation sector accounted for nine, or 75 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 27. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers suffered 19 of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group. The management occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 15, followed by construction and extraction occupations with 9. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for all of the management occupational fatalities. Construction trades workers accounted for 4 of the 9 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 67 or 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Iowa, the same as the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 52 percent of the fatalities for men in Iowa.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 74 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 36 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally. Workers age 55 years and over made up 58 percent of fatalities in Iowa, higher than the 37-percent national share.

• Of the 72 fatally injured workers in Iowa, 75 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups of workers was transportation incidents followed by contact with objects or equipment.

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 ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2017 national data, over 23,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for CFOI, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, even those that may be outside the scope of other agencies or 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. More on the scope of CFOI can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Iowa Workforce Development 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 provided 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 industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

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.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Iowa, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	76	72	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	8	6	8
Intentional injury by person	4	5	7
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	--	4	6
Shooting by other person--intentional	--	4	6
Transportation incidents	36	40	56
Pedestrian vehicular incident	4	5	7
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle on side of road	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	3	4
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	1	2	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	--	1	1
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	22	25	35
Roadway collision with other vehicle	12	12	17
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	3	3	4
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	4	1	1
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	--	5	7
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	3	4
Roadway noncollision incident	6	11	15
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	5	9	13
Fall or jump from vehicle in normal operation, roadway	--	1	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	5	9	13
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	--	1	1
Nonroadway noncollision incident	4	8	11
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	3	7	10
Fires and explosions	--	1	1
Fires	--	1	1
Other structural fire without collapse	--	1	1
Falls, slips, trips	15	8	11
Falls to lower level	12	8	11
Other fall to lower level	11	8	11
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	2	3
Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet	1	1	1
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	--	1	1
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	3	2	3
Contact with objects and equipment	11	16	22
Struck by object or equipment	8	9	13
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	5	5	7
Struck by falling part of powered vehicle still attached	--	1	1
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	3	--	--
Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery--other than vehicle part	--	1	1
Struck by discharged or flying object	--	1	1
Struck by discharged object or substance	--	1	1
Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld	--	1	1
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	--	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery	--	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation	--	1	1
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	4	6
Engulfment in other collapsing material	--	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Iowa, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	76	72	100
Private industry	69	67	93
Natural resources and mining	20	22	31
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	19	21	29
Crop production	10	19	26
Oilseed and grain farming	5	14	19
Wheat farming	--	1	1
Corn farming	4	11	15
Other grain farming	--	2	3
Oilseed and grain combination farming	--	1	1
Other crop farming	--	--	--
Hay farming	--	1	1
Construction	13	10	14
Construction	13	10	14
Construction of buildings	2	1	1
Nonresidential building construction	1	1	1
Commercial and institutional building construction	1	1	1
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	6	8
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	4	6
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	4	6
Other heavy and civil engineering construction	--	2	3
Other heavy and civil engineering construction	--	2	3
Specialty trade contractors	7	3	4
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	4	1	1
Siding contractors	--	1	1
Building finishing contractors	1	1	1
Finish carpentry contractors	--	1	1
Residential finish carpentry contractors	--	1	1
Manufacturing	5	5	7
Manufacturing	5	5	7
Chemical manufacturing	--	1	1
Basic chemical manufacturing	--	1	1
Other basic organic chemical manufacturing	--	1	1
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing	1	1	1
Cement and concrete product manufacturing	1	1	1
Ready-mix concrete manufacturing	1	1	1
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	--	2	3
Architectural and structural metals manufacturing	--	1	1
Plate work and fabricated structural product manufacturing	--	1	1
Fabricated structural metal manufacturing	--	1	1
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing	--	1	1
Metal valve manufacturing	--	1	1
Industrial valve manufacturing	--	1	1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	19	21	29
Wholesale trade	5	9	13
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	--	1	1
Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies merchant wholesalers	1	1	1
Motor vehicle parts (used) merchant wholesalers	--	1	1
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	3	7	10
Farm product raw material merchant wholesalers	--	4	6
Grain and field bean merchant wholesalers	--	4	6
Miscellaneous nondurable goods merchant wholesalers	--	3	4
Farm supplies merchant wholesalers	--	3	4
Wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers	--	1	1
Wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers	--	1	1
Wholesale trade agents and brokers	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	10	12	17
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Truck transportation	9	9	13
General freight trucking	5	8	11
General freight trucking, local	--	4	6
General freight trucking, long-distance	4	3	4
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	--	2	3
Transit and ground passenger transportation	--	1	1
Taxi and limousine service	--	1	1
Taxi service	--	1	1
Professional and business services	4	5	7
Administrative and waste services	4	5	7
Administrative and support services	1	2	3
Services to buildings and dwellings	1	2	3
Landscaping services	1	2	3
Waste management and remediation services	3	3	4
Waste collection	3	3	4
Waste collection	3	3	4
Solid waste collection	3	3	4
Leisure and hospitality	--	2	3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	2	3
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	--	2	3
Other amusement and recreation industries	--	2	3
Golf courses and country clubs	--	1	1
Other services, except public administration	2	2	3
Other services, except public administration	2	2	3
Personal and laundry services	--	1	1
Other personal services	--	1	1
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations	1	1	1
Religious organizations	--	1	1
Government (2)	7	5	7
Federal government	--	2	3
State government	--	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Iowa, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	76	72	100
Management occupations	12	15	21
Other management occupations	12	15	21
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	11	15	21
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	11	15	21
Business and financial operations occupations	--	1	1
Financial specialists	--	1	1
Miscellaneous financial specialists	--	1	1
Protective service occupations	7	--	--
Law enforcement workers	5	1	1
Police officers	5	1	1
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	5	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	--	4	6
Grounds maintenance workers	--	4	6
Grounds maintenance workers	--	4	6
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	--	3	4
Tree trimmers and pruners	--	1	1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	5	6	8
Agricultural workers	5	6	8
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	5	6	8
Agricultural equipment operators	--	1	1
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	1	4	6
Construction and extraction occupations	11	9	13
Construction trades workers	9	4	6
Construction laborers	4	2	3
Construction laborers	4	2	3
Construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Other construction and related workers	--	2	3
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	1
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	1
Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators	--	1	1
Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators	--	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4	--	--
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	1	1
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	--	1	1
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	--	1	1
Production occupations	--	3	4
Assemblers and fabricators	--	1	1
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	--	1	1
Transportation and material moving occupations	24	27	38
Air transportation workers	--	1	1
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	--	1	1
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	--	1	1
Motor vehicle operators	17	21	29
Bus drivers	--	1	1
Bus drivers, school or special client	--	1	1
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	17	19	26
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	13	19	26
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	--	1	1
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	--	1	1
Rail transportation workers	--	1	1
Miscellaneous rail transportation workers	--	1	1
Material moving workers	4	4	6
Conveyor operators and tenders	--	3	4
Conveyor operators and tenders	--	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Iowa, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	76	72	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	55	54	75
Self-employed (2)	21	18	25
Gender
Men	69	67	93
Women	7	5	7
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	5	3	4
25 to 34 years	12	6	8
35 to 44 years	13	4	6
45 to 54 years	12	16	22
55 to 64 years	16	22	31
65 years and over	17	20	28
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	65	53	74
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	4	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	4	--	--
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 race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.