Fatal work injuries totaled 14 in 2015 for Alaska, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Alaska was lower than the 30 fatalities in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 91 in 1992 to a low of 14 in 2015. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Alaska, contact with objects and equipment resulted in six fatal work injuries and transportation incidents accounted for five fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 79 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from contact with objects and equipment rose by 3 over the year while worker fatalities due to transportation incidents fell by 11.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in Alaska with five, similar to the count in the previous year. (See table 2.) Air transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in the transportation and warehousing sector with three worker deaths.

The private construction sector had three workplace fatalities in 2015. Specialty trade contractors accounted for two fatalities and construction of buildings had a single fatal work injury in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with six. (See table 3.) Four of these fatalities were airline pilots and flight engineers.

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for 86 percent of the work-related fatalities in Alaska, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Contact with objects and equipment made up 50 percent of the fatalities for men in Alaska.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 50 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 55-64 years old accounted for 43 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 21 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 14 fatally-injured workers in Alaska, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents.

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 2015 data, over 21,400 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 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 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, Alaska, 2014–15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	30	14	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	7	--	--
Transportation incidents	16	5	36
Aircraft incidents	4	3	21
Other in-flight crash	--	3	21
Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground	--	3	21
Contact with objects and equipment	3	6	43
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, Alaska, 2014–15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	30	14	100
Private industry	22	12	86
Natural resources and mining	10	--	--
Construction	--	3	21
Construction	--	3	21
Construction of buildings	--	1	7
Nonresidential building construction	--	1	7
Commercial and institutional building construction	--	1	7
Specialty trade contractors	--	2	14
Building finishing contractors	--	2	14
Painting and wall covering contractors	--	2	14
Residential painting and wall covering contractors	--	2	14
Trade, transportation, and utilities	5	6	43
Transportation and warehousing	4	5	36
Air transportation	--	3	21
Scheduled air transportation	--	3	21
Scheduled air transportation	--	3	21
Scheduled passenger air transportation	2	3	21
Professional and business services	1	--	--
Educational and health services	1	--	--
Leisure and hospitality	3	--	--
Government (2)	8	--	--
Federal government	5	1	7
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, Alaska, 2014–15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	30	14	100
Management occupations	1	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	8	--	--
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	6	6	43
Air transportation workers	3	4	29
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	3	4	29
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	2	4	29
Military specific occupations (2)	5	--	--
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
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 worker characteristics, Alaska, 2014–15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	30	14	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	28	12	86
Gender
Men	28	12	86
Age (2)
55 to 64 years	4	6	43
Race or ethnic origin (3)
White, non-Hispanic	22	7	50
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	3	21
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (2) Information may not be available for all age groups. (3) 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.