Fatal work-related injuries in the U.S. chemical industry 1984-89.
Several mortality studies of the chemical industry have examined fatal injuries, but most of these studies have been of employees of large chemical firms and have not separated work-related from non-work-related injuries. We examined all U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation files in 1984-89 in 47 U.S. states of fatal injuries in the chemical industry, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2800-2899. OSHA investigates all reported deaths over which it has jurisdiction; this includes most causes of work-related death except for homicide and motor vehicle crashes. For the 6 year period, there were 234 fatalities in the chemical industry, for a work-related fatality rate of 0.55 per 10,000 workers/year. The largest category of deaths was from explosions, with 99 (42%), followed by fire & burns, with 32 (14%), poisoning, with 31 (13%), and falls, with 18 (8%). Of the 99 deaths from explosions, 45 (45%) involved manufacture or handling of fireworks or other explosives. The fatality rate at firms with fewer than 50 employees was more than twice that of larger firms (P < 0.05) and employees at small firms were less likely to have been covered by a union contract (P < 0.05). OSHA issued citations for safety violations in 73% of the deaths. While regulatory authorities and the media often focus attention on large, multinational chemical corporations, the highest worker fatality rates are found at the smallest chemical firms.
Suruda
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Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City 84112, USA. asuruda@rmcoeh.utah.edu
Wallace
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D
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005107:Explosions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration