Homicides now No. 2 cause of on-the-job death
Homicides now No. 2 cause of on-the-job death
The good news: Workplace fatalities declining
Homicides have surpassed machinery accidents to place second only to traffic accidents as a cause of workplace fatalities, according to the recently published Fatal Occupational Injuries in the United States: National and State Perspective. The study was the latest annual update of these workplace trends by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a Washington, DC-based institute of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (See the chart, above.)
The current report covers the years 1980-1994. The findings also show a general decrease of about 16% in occupational injury deaths in the United States during that period. "There have been many changes in the workplace that may have contributed to these changes, e.g., increased regulations and hazard awareness and new technology and mechanization," the report offers.
While the increase in workplace homicides will come as no surprise to anyone who watches the news, there are several different factors at work, says Suzanne Kisner, a NIOSH statistician in Morgantown, WV, who helped write the report.
"Over years we have seen better enforcement of health and safety laws, increased knowledge of hazards and prevention, changes in technology, but a different distribution of jobs across industrial sectors and occupations," she explains. "There may have been changes in the distribution of workers from the more traditional manufacturing sector to the service sector. This brings greater risk factors for workplace violence."
The fact that workplace fatalities have declined overall demonstrates that workplace safety programs can have an effect on serious injuries and fatalities, says Kisner. "We've always said that workplace deaths are preventable to a certain level. Employers can use these results to identify those groups of workers that are at higher risk, and the specific causes of death," she notes.
Identifying job-specific health risks
It's also important to know the specific risk factors for your employee population, adds Marie Pereira, statewide wellness coordinator for the employees of the state of California - a workforce of about 185,000. "We try to model for state employees - to tell them, `Here's what a core program should look like,'" she says.
For example, notes Pereira, the statewide compliance rate for wearing seat belts is very high, "But highway workers and Highway Patrol officers are still in danger of being killed on the job."
To minimize those deaths, Pereira's department has an active corps of safety officers who travel throughout the state giving training sessions. "We are very conscious of employee safety, down to the clothing they wear, and procedures covering where they should stand while working on the highway," she explains. "Our Highway Patrol has an academy where recruits are trained on a special track, learning how to react quickly, how to drive on wet roads, and even how to maximize their safety during a high-speed chase."
The California Highway Patrol also sponsors a task force on violence in the workplace, which educates employees about the different types of individuals who may be prone to violence, and the issues that might set them off. "Our EAP is taught to recognize behavior changes that might lead to a scenario of violence, and our employees know that if a co-worker or a family member is threatening them, there is someone in the workplace they can tell," says Pereira.
Finally, she adds, each state agency includes the handling of hazardous materials as part of its Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. "It's part of the scope of this program to provide training on actions to take after a chemical accident, such as thorough washing, proper ventilation, and not mixing volatile chemicals that could explode," she notes.
NIOSH publications available
As an offshoot of its workplace fatality findings, NIOSH has published a number of articles aimed at helping employers prevent these tragedies. "We have various alerts available - background data, case studies, and recommendations," says Kisner.
For example, she says, a Motor Vehicle Alert is forthcoming, and several homicide alerts have already been published. Still others cover how to prevent machine-related fatalities.
One of NIOSH's more recent publications is its current Intelligence Bulletin, Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies (NIOSH Publication No. 96-100).
"All an employer or safety manager has to do is call our `800' number and say they want the publication. They are all available free of charge," says Kisner.
[Editor's note: You can contact the NIOSH publications office at: (800) 356-4674. The NIOSH Web site is located at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html. You can contact Suzanne Kisner at: NIOSH, 1095 Willowdale Road, Mail Stop P180, Morgantown, WV 26505. Telephone: (304) 285-6009.]
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