total of 5,524 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2002, a decline of 6.6 percent from 2001, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. The count for 2002 was the lowest ever recorded by the fatality census, which has been conducted yearly since 1992. The fatality rate also reached a new low of 4.0 fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers in 2002.
In 2001, 5,915 fatal work injuries occurred, excluding the 2,886 work-related fatalities that resulted from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which were tabulated separately. The comparisons in this release do not include the fatalities related to the terrorist attacks.
**Profile of 2002 fatal work injuries by type of incident
Fatal highway incidents were down 3 percent from 2001, but continued to be the most frequent type of fatal workplace event in 2002, accounting for about a quarter of all fatal work injuries. Other types of fatal transportation events also declined, including aircraft incidents (down 22 percent) and workers struck by vehicle or mobile equipment (down 7 percent). Overall, fatal work injuries from transportation incidents declined for the fourth year in a row, from 2,645 in 1998 to 2,381 in 2002.
Workplace homicides were down about 5 percent in 2002, from 643 in 2001 to 609 in 2002.
The number of workplace homicides in 2002 was the lowest recorded in the fatality census and represented a 44 percent decline from the high of 1,080 workplace homicides recorded in 1994. Workplace suicides also were down in 2002.
Fatalities resulting from falls declined for the first time since 1998, from 810 in 2001 to 714 in 2002, a drop of 12 percent. Virtually all types of fatal falls declined in 2002,
though falls from ladders and falls from nonmoving vehicles increased slightly.
The only major fatality event recording an increase was exposure to harmful substances or environments (up 8 percent). The increase in this event category was led by a sharp increase in the number of fatalities involving contact with temperature extremes (such as heat stroke), which increased from 35 fatalities in 2001 to 60 in 2002. Electrocutions also increased slightly in 2002.
**Profile of fatal work injuries by industry
Construction continued to record the highest number of fatal injuries of any major industry, although the total for construction was down 9 percent from the series high recorded in 2001. Fatal work injuries in mining also were lower, due to declines in coal mining and in oil and gas extraction. Fatal work injuries in manufacturing, transportation and public utilities, retail and wholesale trade, services, and government also declined from 2001 levels.
Fatal work injuries in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry increased about 6 percent in 2002, due to increases in forestry and in agricultural crop production fatalities. Fatal work injuries in commercial fishing--historically one of the more hazardous industries--were down sharply, from 60 in 2001 to 31 in 2002.
Rates of fatal work injury in 2002 were highest in the mining, agriculture/forestry/fishing, construction, and transportation/public utilities industries. The mining industry recorded a rate of 23.5 fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers in 2002, the highest of any major industry, but down about 22 percent from the rate recorded in 2001. Fatal work injury rates for all other major industries also were down in 2002, except in finance, insurance, and real estate (unchanged) and in transportation and public utilities (up slightly).
**Profile of fatal work injuries by occupation
Operators, fabricators, and laborers accounted for 1,895 fatal work injuries in 2002, the most of any major occupational group and about a third of the fatal work injuries reported in 2002. However, the number of fatalities for this occupational group declined for the third consecutive year and was down about 7 percent from 2001. Fatal work injuries among machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors were down sharply in 2002, and fatalities involving transportation and material moving occupations also were lower.
Fatal work injuries among construction laborers also declined in 2002, from a series high of 350 in 2001 to 302 fatalities in 2002--a decline of 14 percent. However, fatalities among laborers, except construction, were higher by about 8 percent in 2002. Overall, fatalities in handler, equipment cleaner, helper, and laborer occupations were down about 10 percent. Truck drivers--who had more fatal injuries than any other individual occupation-- recorded 808 fatal work injuries, a slight increase from the 802 fatalities recorded in 2001.
Precision production, craft, and repair workers accounted for 1,104 fatal work injuries in 2002 or about one-fifth of the overall total. While fatal work injuries in this occupational group were down about 3 percent overall in 2002, fatalities in the construction trades sub-group were slightly higher. The 682 fatal work injuries in the construction trades in 2002 was the highest recorded by the fatality census for that group. Roofers, electricians, brick masons, and painters were among the construction trades recording increases in 2002. Mechanics and repairers recorded a lower number of fatal work injuries in 2002, and fatalities involving extractive occupations were down 40 percent in 2002. Service occupations also recorded fewer fatal work injuries in 2002 than in 2001 (down 6 percent), as did managerial and professional specialty occupations (down 20 percent) and technical, sales, and administrative support occupations (down 7 percent). The number of fatal work injuries in farming, forestry, and fishing, however, increased from 804 in 2001 to 840 in 2002, a rise of about 4 percent. In that group, forestry and logging workers, groundskeepers, farm workers, and farming operators/ managers were among the occupations recording increases.
Rates of fatal injury were down for all major occupational categories in 2002. However, a few smaller occupational groups recorded higher rates in 2002, including construction trades, forestry and logging occupations, and water transportation occupations.
**Profile of fatal work injuries by demographic characteristics
Fatal work injuries were down in almost every demographic category-- men and women, wage and salary and self-employed workers, and virtually all age groups. Fatal work injuries among workers 19 years of age and under went from 175 in 2001 to 133 in 2002, a decline of 24 percent.
Fatal work injuries among white, non-Hispanic workers were down about 6 percent. Fatal work injuries among Hispanic workers, which had been rising each year since 1995, also were down by 6 percent in 2002. However, the 840 fatal work injuries recorded for Hispanic workers in 2002 accounted for the second highest annual total for that population. Among black workers, a total of 491 fatalities were recorded— the lowest annual count ever for that population.
Profile of fatal work injuries by state
Thirty states and the District of Columbia had fewer fatal work injuries in 2002 than in 2001. Two states (New Jersey and North Dakota) had the same number of fatalities in both 2001 and 2002, and the remaining 18 states reported increases. Nine states reported series lows in 2002.
For more detailed state results, contact the individual state agency responsible for the collection of CFOI data in that state. A list of those agencies, with telephone numbers, is provided in table 6.
Background of the program
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, provides the most complete count of fatal work injuries available. The program uses diverse state and federal data sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment being used, and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers’ compensation records, and reports to federal and state agencies. This method assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.
This is the 11th year that the fatality census has been conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The BLS fatality census is a federal/state cooperative venture in which costs are shared equally. Additional state-specific data are available from the participating agencies listed in table 6.
Another BLS program, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, profiles worker and case characteristics of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses that result in lost work time and presents frequency counts and incidence rates by industry. Copies of the news release on nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2001 are available from BLS by calling (202) 691-6179 or by accessing the website listed below. Incidence rates for 2002 by industry will be published in December 2003, and information on 2002 worker and case characteristics will be available in the spring of 2004. For additional data, access the BLS Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/iif/.