Fatal occupational injuries among self-employed workers in North Carolina

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that rates of occupational injury and death may be higher among self-employed workers than in the wage and salaried population. This analysis was conducted to describe the demographic and occupational characteristics, as well as injuries, activities, and occupations of self-employed workers who are fatally injured on the job. METHODS: Characteristics of workers by type of employment were compared using data from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 1978-1994. Age-, activity-, and industry-specific fatality rates in self-employed workers (N=395) were contrasted to those privately employed (N=1,654). RESULTS: Highest fatal injury rates among the self-employed occurred in agriculture, retail, and transportation industries. Homicide deaths occurred more frequently among self-employed workers; deaths resulting from unintentional injuries occurred more frequently among non-self-employed workers. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated occupational fatality death rates among self-employed workers, especially in retail and transportation industries, provide justification for addressing work-related conditions of self-employed workers in North Carolina.     

Fatal occupational injuries in California, 1972-1983

Prior reports have indicated that the crude incidence of fatal occupational accidents in California has substantially declined since at least 1972. We tested the hypothesis that this observation was an artifact of demographic shifts in the workforce towards lower-risk age groups and industries. Review of worker's compensation data from 1972 to 1983 identified 2,483 fatal injuries among males. Crude rates declined by an average of 7.0% annually (p less than .005). Age and industry adjustment reduced this decline to 6.7% annually, but the trend was still significant (p less than .005). Thus, the decline in fatal injury rates is not artifactual and will require further study to explain. In a separate analysis, age-specific death rates were found to follow a bimodal pattern in most industries with the highest rates observed at the extremes of age. These results conflict with those of several previous studies. However, these studies did not adjust for the prevalence of part-time work schedules among younger employees.     

Fatal injuries in the construction industry in Washington State

Two hundred thirty-one deaths occurred in the construction industry in Washington State between 1973 and 1983, an average annual mortality rate of 27.5 per 100,000 workers. Falls, cave-ins, and electrocutions resulting from heavy equipment (boom type) contacting overhead power lines together accounted for 45.4% of the fatalities. Heavy construction had a death rate twice that of the other two construction subgroups (building and special trades construction). There was a significant trend towards increasing mortality with decreasing company size (p = 0.03). Drilling machine operators, welders, flamecutters, reinforcing-iron workers, and heavy-equipment operators had the highest proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs). PMRs for workers generally increased with age. Many of these fatal construction injuries would not have occurred had existing safety regulations been observed.     

Epidemiologic study of occupational injuries among foreign and native workers in Taiwan

This study was designed to compare the risk of occupational injuries in foreign workers compared to native workers in Taiwan. The cohort of foreign workers under study was constructed by records of legally registered workers migrated from foreign countries to Taiwan from July 1, 1991 to December 31, 1993. The native Taiwanese workers for comparison were labor-insured workers working in the same industries as foreign workers in 1992. The number of occupational injuries in the first year of employment were obtained by matching the cohort of foreign workers with the labor insurance payment records by name, birth date and passport number. The 1-year incidence rate of occupational injuries in the first year of employment was calculated and a standardized morbidity ratio (SMR) was used for comparison with adjustment for age distribution and to accommodate the small sample size of foreign workers. The risk to occupational injuries among total (SMR = 0.86) and male (SMR = 0.58) foreign workers was not higher: indeed, it was even lower, than that among native workers in Taiwan. However, the risk to female migrant workers, especially in the construction industry, was significantly higher than that of female Taiwanese workers (SMR = 1.60). Stratified by industry, the incidence was high in the fabricated metal products manufacturing industry and in machinery and equipment manufacturing industry for male foreign workers, while a high incidence for the female foreign workers occurred in construction industry and rubber products manufacturing industry. The risk of occupational injuries was greater for foreign workers who had been in Taiwan for only a short time. Most fo the injuries occurred within the first 6 months of employment. Eighty-four out of the 394 occupational injuries among foreign workers resulted in disabilities. None of the accidents was fatal, but most of the disabilities were severe. The most common disabling injuries were cut or crushed fingers. The finding of a similar distribution of occupational injuries among foreign and native workers indicates that control measures are needed to reduce occupational injuries for all foreign and native workers in Taiwan. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:623–630, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Barriers to documenting occupational injuries among personal assistance services workers

BACKGROUND: Personal Assistance Services (PAS) workers provide essential support to disabled and elderly individuals living at home rather than institutions. Occupational injury risks are known, but limitations in occupational injury surveillance prevent assessing injury prevalence. Changing employment arrangements adopted by publicly funded programs may complicate the classification of PAS workers. METHODS: We surveyed state workers' compensation agencies and Financial Management Services organizations used by state Medicaid programs. RESULTS: Changing employment arrangements pose further barriers to classifying and documenting injury, and accessing workers' compensation coverage. Workers' Compensation coverage varies according to employment arrangements of the PAS workers. Financial Management Services organizations vary in their roles for reporting injury. Most frequent activities were providing written information about injury reporting, and reporting injuries to appropriate agencies or insurance companies. CONCLUSIONS: Current limitations undercount the prevalence and consequences of PAS-related occupational injuries among agency workers and largely ignore independent providers. Policy and research recommendations are presented.     

Self-reported occupational injuries among industrial beef slaughterhouse workers in the Midwestern United States

Although workers in meatpacking facilities in the U.S. experience high rates of occupational injury, their injury experiences have received limited research attention. Prior research indicates underreporting in injury rates in this industry as well significant variation in injury rates among facilities. To add detail to the rates and circumstances surrounding occupational injury among meatpacking workers, we conducted a cross-sectional study of workers employed at an industrial beefpacking plant in Nebraska (n = 137) and interviewed workers about recent injury experiences. We assessed frequency, cause and nature of self-reported injury. We estimated annual incidence rates of self-reported injuries using the OSHA formula and compared these rates to industry-wide data. We also evaluated psychological distress in this workforce as measured by the Kessler-6 scale to assess whether distress was associated with recent occupational injury. In this study, 15.1% of workers experienced occupational injuries that required time off work, job transfer, or restriction during the past three months. The estimated annual incidence rate was 15.2 injuries per 100 full-time workers for these injuries at this plant. Rushing was identified as the cause of nearly 50% of injuries, and repetitive work as the cause of an additional 20% of injuries. Use of metal mesh sleeves (POR: 0.10 (p = 0.008)) and metal mesh gloves (POR: 0.41 (p = 0.05) were associated with reduced risk of injury. Use of a carbon steel for knife sharpening (POR: 5.2 (p = 0.02)) was associated with elevated risk of moderate and severe injury. There were no associations between self-reported occupational injury and overall measures of psychological distress. Self-reported incidence rate of severe injury in this plant was more than twice official industry estimates. Worker self-reports may illustrate key areas for injury prevention.     

Fatal occupational injuries among workers in Kocaeli, Turkey, 1990-1999

The authors evaluated occupational accidents in Kocaeli, Turkey, using epidemiologic criteria. Data were derived from the registries of the service on Occupational Injuries and Diseases of the Social Insurance Institution's District Authority in Kocaeli. The analysis was based on data from 387 deaths. The rates of occupational injuries and mortality and fatalities from them were 5.1%, 30.6 per 100,000 workers, and 6.0%, respectively, compared with 2.8%, 35.2 per 100.000 workers, and 12.7% in Turkey. Sectors with the highest rates of fatal occupational injuries were construction (30.2%), transportation (13.2%), basic metal industry (9.0%), manufacturing of metal products (5.9%), and heating with electricity, gas, and steam (5.9%). 38.2% of these workers were 25-34 years old. Nearly all were male, most were married, and three fourths had children. Of all deaths due to occupational injuries, 121 (31.3%) were caused by traffic injuries, 93 (24.1%) by falling from high places, and 43 (11.1%) by electrocution; 89% occurred at workplaces, 42% of the workplaces were small, and 45.9% of the deceased workers had been working there for less than three months. Although the situation was better than that in the rest of Turkey in terms of epidemiologic criteria, the death rates, as in other developing countries, are higher than those in the world in general.     

Early labor force exit subsequent to permanently impairing occupational injury or illness among workers 50‐64 years of age

Background

Severity of workplace injury tends to increase with age. Whether older workers who experience a workplace injury or illness exit the labor force sooner than comparable peers is not established.

Methods

A case‐cohort study design and complementary log‐log model were used to identify factors associated with average time to early substantial labor force exit among workers’ compensation claimants 50‐64 years of age with permanent impairment from an occupational injury or illness. Analysis was based on Ontario's workers’ compensation claimant data from 1998 to 2006 linked with Canadian tax files.

Results

Workers with permanent impairment left the labor force earlier, on average, than peers without claims. Early retirement was associated with older age in the injury/illness year, greater impairment, lower pre‐claim income, physically demanding jobs, and soft‐tissue injuries.

Conclusions

Policies aiming to extend older adults’ working lives should account for the potentially disparate impacts on older workers of occupational injury and illness.

     

Laceration injuries among workers at meat packing plants

BACKGROUND: Employees in meat packing experience one of the highest occupational laceration injury rates in the US. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted using OSHA 200 injury and illness logs and First Reports of Injury from two large US meat packing plants from 1998 to 2000. The total workers observed during the study period ranged between 2,449 and 2,682 per year. RESULTS: Laceration injury incidence rates in Plant 1 were 14.0 injuries per 200,000 person hours (per 100 workers per year) in 1998, 11.5 in 1999, and 8.3 in 2000, whereas in Plant 2 the overall incidence rate was 3.7 in 1998, 4.8 in 1999, and 3.0 in 2000. Laceration injury rates in Plant 2 were close to the expected OSHA recordable laceration injury rate in 1999 (3.0 per 100 workers per year), but Plant 1 was considerably higher. Plant 1 had a kill support department, and removed animal hides whereas Plant 2 did not. Handheld non-powered tools were the most common contact objects whereas the slaughter department had the highest number of injuries. Finger injuries from a handheld non-powered tool were the most frequent. CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm the high rate of injury from laceration in this industry and indicate hazard varies across time into shift, task being performed, and type of tool being used.     

Mortality among rubber workers: X. Reclaim workers

This study evaluated the mortality experience of 1,352 white and 438 nonwhite men who worked in the rubber-reclaiming division of a large rubber manufacturing company. In comparisons of mortality of white reclaim workers with that of nonreclaim workers rate ratios were 2.7 for esophageal cancer (six observed deaths among reclaim workers), 2.1 for bladder cancer (seven observed deaths), and 4.5 for multiple myeloma (six observed deaths). The excess of bladder cancer among white reclaim workers may be associated with their employment in other high-risk areas of the plant, whereas no such explanation was found for the excesses of esophageal cancer and multiple myeloma. Overall, the lung cancer mortality rate of white reclaim workers was similar to the rate of US white males and other white rubber workers. There was a 50% excess of lung cancer deaths among nonwhite reclaim workers compared with other nonwhite rubber workers. However, this observation is based on small numbers, and no firm conclusions can be reached about the risk of lung cancer associated with reclaim operations in this group of rubber workers.     

某钢铁企业职业伤害流行病学研究

为了解钢铁企业职业伤害分布特征及事故原因 ,本次研究对某钢铁企业 1988～ 2 0 0 1年 14年的职业伤害事故进行了回顾性调查。结果表明 :钢铁企业的职业伤害随着时间的推移 ,呈现明显的下降趋势 (P<0 0 5) ,轻伤、重伤、死亡的比例为 40∶2∶1;男性易女性发生职业伤害 ,年轻职工易发生职业伤害 ,本工种工龄小于 5年的职业伤害人数占 51 2 3 % ;伤害主要累及四肢和头颈部 ,烧烫伤和骨折是主要的伤害类型 ,职业伤害的主要原因为违规操作、注意力不集中等人为原因 ,其次为设备、设施存在缺陷和生产场所环境不良     

Updated mortality among diverse operating segments of a petroleum company

OBJECTIVES—To update mortality for 34 560 employees from diverse operating segments of a Canadian petroleum company; and to investigate potential relations with occupational factors.
METHODS—Employees from 1964-83 were linked to the Canadian mortality data base to provide 11 years additional follow up. There were 6760 deaths and 750 683 person-years of follow up compared with 3909 and 428 190, respectively, in the earlier study. Analyses used standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) to compare worker cause specific mortality with the Canadian general population. Duration of employment and latency analyses were performed for causes previously found to be increased in this and other petroleum cohorts, as well as any findings of interest.
RESULTS—For the period 1964-94, employees experienced significantly low overall mortality (SMR=0.86 men, SMR=0.80 women). Kidney cancer, which has been increased in some studies of petroleum workers, was not increased. Acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia in exposed operating segments was consistent with the expected or only slightly, non-significantly increased. The most notable finding was increased deaths from mesothelioma among refinery and petrochemical workers (SMR 8.68; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.51 to 13.03), most of whom were long term employees in jobs with presumed exposure to asbestos (mechanical and pipefitters). Deaths from multiple myeloma among marketing and distribution workers, which were previously increased, remained increased (SMR 2.08; 95% CI 0.95 to 3.95) in the update period 1984-94; however, there was no clear pattern by duration of employment or latency. Aortic aneurysms, which also were previously significantly increased among marketing and distribution workers approached the expected in the update period (SMR 1.18; 95% CI 0.65-1.98). Analyses by duration of employment showed suggestive trends for aortic aneurysms, but earlier studies of this cohort have not found a relation between aortic aneurysms and exposure to hydrocarbons.
CONCLUSION—The additional 2851 deaths and 322 493 person-years of follow up strengthened the assessment of mortality patterns relative to occupational factors. With the exception of mesothelioma, no clear work related increases in disease were identified.


Keywords: epidemiology; occupational exposures; petroleum     

Surveillance for nonfatal work-related injuries in Alaska, 1991–1995

Historically, Alaska has had an occupational fatality rate five times greater than that for the United States. This article reports recent surveillance results for hospitalized nonfatal work-related injuries in Alaska, using the population-based Alaska Trauma Registry (ATR) from 1991 through 1995. The fishing, construction, and logging industries led with the highest number of reported cases in the ATR. Workers in the logging, water transportation, and wood product manufacturing industries had the highest injury rates. Cause, severity, type, and body region of injury were examined for each target industry. For industries with the highest numbers and rates of injuries, in most cases, falls were identified as a common cause of injuries. A fractured bone was the most common type of injury, and the extremities were the most common body region affected. The ATR has proved to be a reliable tool for work-related injury surveillance and will be helpful in planning research priorities and targeting injury prevention efforts. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34:493–498, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

某燃煤火电公司职工职业健康知识知晓与需求调查

随机整群抽取113名某燃煤火力发电公司职工,以调查问卷的方式进行基线调查。结果显示,该公司职工对《职业病防治法》、合同告知职业病危害、高毒物品告知卡等职业卫生知识了解不足,对性健康、控烟和合理饮食等健康生活习惯依然缺乏认识,对职业病与职业相关疾病防治、职业病危害因素种类及对人体危害等知识有强烈的需求。提示应该针对职工认知不足和知识需求开展职业卫生相关领域的知识培训,通过健康教育和干预开展职业健康促进工作,进一步保障职工健康。