Deaths National Safety Council

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the injury frequency rate for all manufacturing companies rose from 11.8 in 1960 to 15.3 in 1970. The National Safety Council estimates that there are around 15,000 job-related deaths each year and another 2,300,000 workers suffer disabling injuries. The total cost associated with these accidents is nearly 9,500,000,000/yr. 14 These figures are conservative,... 

According to the NSC, the economic impact of fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries amounted to 693.5 billion in 2009. This is equivalent to about 2,300 per capita, or about 5,900 per household. These are costs that every individual and household pays whether directly out of pocket, through higher prices for goods and services, or through higher taxes. Approximately 35,000,000 hours are lost in a typical year as a result of accidents. (National Safety Council, Injury and Death Statistics, Injury Facts, 2009)... 

Table 7.2 shows data taken from the National Safety Council publication Injury Facts, 2000 Edition (p. 44). What s the point of all this Fatal accident experience in the work world has changed substantially since Heinrich s studies were made. In the National Safety Council publication, 1933 is the first year for which a death rate per 100,000 workers is shown. 

National Safety Council A national organization devoted to Educating and influencing people to prevent accidental injury and death. Most states have a NSC chapter. 

U.S. workers are safer on the job than in their homes and conunnnities. Home and communities deaths are np 75 percent. According to the National Safety Council 2011 Injury Facts, for every worker killed on the job, approximately 15 workers are killed off the job. Nearly three times as many workers suffer nonfatal injuries off the job as on the job. (NSC, 2012b)... 

With an annual budget of about 300 million, OSHA is about five percent the size of the Enviroiunental Protection Agency (Salwen 1993). The federal government has six times more fish and game inspectors than health and safety inspectors (Ball 1992). As demonstrated in the Inq)erial Food Product s fire, OSHA frequently steps in only after a disaster. One might believe the limited federal commitment to worker health and safety would lead to a vast and expanding frequency of workplace accidents and diseases. As shown in Figure 1.1 the frequency of workplace deaths as measured by National Safety Council statistics has declined dramatically over the last 64 years. In 1928, for every 1(X),(XX) workers there were 15.8 workplace fatalities. By 1992 the rate of fatalities had fallen by about 80 percent to 3.3 per... 

Because of the estimating procedure the National Safety Council statistics may undercount U.S. workplace fatalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has also calculated worlq>lace fatality rates since the late 1930s but the scope of their survey has changed so dramatically that one cannot use the BLS data to identify a time trend. Nevertheless, the BLS s most recent data collection effort creates the most reliable source of information on fatal workplace accidents in the United States. 1 The BLS conducted a census of fatal occupational injuries for 1992 using data from death certificates, workers compensation claims, medical examiners records, autopsy reports, motor vehicle accident records, and OSH A and Mine Safety and Health Administration fatal injury reports. The BLS estimated Ae average worker in the United... 

Today, safety has become an important issue because each year a large number of people die or get seriously injured due to various types of accidents. As per the National Safety Council (NSC), in 1996 there were 93,400 deaths and a large number of disabling injuries due to accidents in the United States [4]. The cost of these accidents was estimated to be about 121 billion. 

There are at least three major sources of injury, disease, and death statistics in the United States. One is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These are federal government agencies. A private source is the National Safety Council. In addition, there are many other federal and state agency sources for injury data. Overall, the data show that accidental injuries are significant. After achieving major reductions, there is still an ongoing need to prevent injuries, illnesses, and deaths. 

National Safety Council (NSC) For several decades, the National Safety Council (NSC) has compiled data on accidents, incidents, injuries, illnesses, and deaths. An annual publication provided detailed analysis of the data. For many years the publication title was Accident Facts. More recently, the title is Injury Facts. This publication breaks down data and analysis into three groups occupational, motor vehicle, and home and community. Also the publication now reports information on intentional injuries, such as assaults and self-harm. Data come from a variety of sources. 

Locate the injury and death statistics published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CDC, and the National Safety Council for the last four years. Discuss the significant findings and trends found in these statistical sources. 

Injury Facts, 2014 Edition, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL. Available at www.nsc.org/news resources/injury and death statistics/Documents/InjuryFactsHighlights.pdf... 

Slips and falls may appear to be simple trivial accidents, but they result in thousands of deaths and cost billions of dollars in direct and indirect cost [59]. According to statistics compiled by the National Safety Council, falls are the second leading cause of accidental deaths. Over 40% of the dollars spent on workers compensation in the U.S. food service industry are due to the results of slips and falls. Annual expense from slips and falls is about 12,000 per restaurant for an average of 3-4 accidents per year. In 1988, for example, more than 12,000 people died from accidental falls. In public areas such as hotels, motels, and restaurants, slips and falls occur more frequently than any other accidents. Slips and falls can result in serious injuries, especially to the head and back. The floor surface is the single most important factor contributing to slips and falls. The slip-fall relationship between the floor snrface and the floor coating is also an important consideration, as it relates to liability and worker s compensation, especially in the fast food industry, where a floor can be wet or greasy. 

In my opinion, the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is similar in some aspects to a British version of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration blended with the US National Safety Council. The HSE s website is comprehensive and easy to use. The HSE s objective is to prevent death, injury and ill-health in Great Britain s workplaces - by becoming part of the solution. The search engine at this site can connect you to a treasure chest of supporting informatioa... 

Data from the National Safety Council (NSC) for 2008 indicates that the costs of work-related injuries and deaths were 183.0 billion. Wage and productivity loss accounted for 88.4 billion, medical cost for 38.3 billion, and employer cost equaled 12.7 billion. The average cost of a workplace death was put at 1,310,000 and a disabling injury cost at 48,000. A look at other injury costs provided by the National Safety Council indicates that a reasonable, serious, non-disabling injury would have an average cost of 22,674 (2006-2007) (NSC Injury Fact, 2010). 

Because injuries received from falls in the workplace are such a common occurrence— in a typical year more than 10,000 workers will lose their lives in falls—safety officials need to be aware of not only fall hazards but also the need to institute a fall protection safety program (Kohr, 1989). Just how frequent and serious are accidents related to falls Let s look at a few telling facts about falls in the workplace. The National Safety Council s annual report typically predicts 1400 or more deaths and more than 400,000 disabling injuries to occur each year due to falls. Falls are the leading cause of disabling injuries in the United States, accounting for close to 18% of all workers compensation claims. A Bureau of Labor Statistics 24-state survey reported that 60% of elevated falls were under 10 feet, and 50% of those were under 5 feet (Pater, 1985). The primary causes of falls have been identified as the following (Kohr, 1989) ... 

The National Safety Council (USA) defines an accident as that occurrence in a sequence of events that usually produces unintended injury or illness, or death and/or property damage. This definition, too, refers to the contact and exchange of energy where the harm is done as the accident phase of the sequence of events. The entire sequence of events, the loss causation sequence, is the accident The unintended injury referred to is caused by the exchange of energy. 

The most typical safety measurement tool is to track the number of accidents. The types of data needed to do this are costs of system downtime (and lost productivity and product or market share), equipment damaged during an accident, accident cleanup, equipment replacement, and, of course, personnel injuries and death (including medical costs, workman s compensation, and potential lawsuits). These data can be easily trended and tracked on a monthly or quarterly basis. You can then compare your statistics to national averages. The U.S. National Safety Council (many countries publish comparable information at the federal governmental level) publishes accident costs across all industries. These costs include estimates of lost wages, medical expenses, insurance administration costs, and uninsured costs. 

The information in Table 2 compares with 9,100 deaths and 3,000,000 injuries on the job and 38,100 deaths and 1,800,000 injuries from autos in 1993 (National Safety Council 1994). It has been estimated that 20 toxic air pollutants caused 2,000 cancers annually (USEPA 1987). Superfund and hazardous waste sites were projected to cause 1,000 and 100 cancer cases, respectively, per year (USEPA 1987). The health damage from pollutants in the home is in the same range as deaths and injuries caused by cars and on-the-job accidents. The number of cancer cases listed for home toxics is far in excess of the estimated 5-27 cases/yr used by USEPA to regulate... 

The National Safety Council saves lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the... 

According to the National Safety Council, the true cost of occupational injuries and deaths to the nation far surpasses the cost incurred from woikers compensation alone. In 2005, the cost was 160.4 billion, which includes wage and productivity losses of 80.0 billion, medical cost of 31.3 billion, and administrative cost of 34.4 billion. It also includes 10.7 billion for such uninsured costs as the money value of time lost by workers other than those with disabling injuries who are directly or indirectly involved in the injuries and the cost to investigate injuries, write up reports, etc. In addition, it includes damages to motor vehicles in work injuries of 1.7 billion and fire losses of 2.3 billion. 

The council, a not-for-profit organization, promotes safety throughout the United States. The National Safety Council (NSC) recently announced its new SMS. The system can provide companies with a structure to implement a comprehensive and balanced safety management function. Workplace safety and transportation safety remain critical areas of focus. The NSC saves lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the roads through the use of leadership, research, education, and advocacy. The council vision statement simply says. Making Our World Safer. 

Official statistics fortunately show that reported occupational accidents have been on the decrease since several years. The National Safety Council (USA) reports that "between 1912 and 1984, accidental work-related deaths per 100.000 inhabitants decreased by 76 per cent, from 21 to 5. In 1912, an estimated 18.000 to 21.000 workers lives were lost. In 1984, in a work force which had more than doubled in size and which had increased by more than a factor of ten, only 11.500 work-related deaths were reported." (National Safety Council, 1985). This quite satisfying result can be attributed to measures taken in the areas of safety technology, education and law. The problem of occupational accidents - as well as of accidents involving motor vehicles and home accidents - has, however, not become less serious. In the USA today, a fatal accident occurs every 6 minutes,... 

Between 1912 and 1984 the accidental death rate per 100,000 population dropped from 82 to 39, a reduction of 52 per cent. All total, 92,000 accidental deaths were counted in 1984 (National Safety Council, 1985). A reduction also took place in accidental work deaths. The accidental work death rate per... 

The National Safety Council reported that slips and falls are the leading cause of death in the workplace, and the source of more than 20 percent of all disabling injuries. Falls cause more than 564,000 disabling injuries each year. 

Exposures to the chemical carbon monoxide (CO) can be very significant in a warehouse environment. Carbon monoxide is the by-product of the incomplete combustion of any material containing carbon such as gasoline, natural gas, oil, propane, coal, or wood. CO is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can cause harm without warning. Unintended exposure to CO in the United States claims more than 800 lives each year. The Centers for Disease Control identified 11,547 CO deaths from 1979 to 1988. Some 40 percent of all CO poisonings occur at work sites, may of which are warehouses, states the National Safety Council. 

The National Research Council Committee states that attempts to assess food safety based solely on the process are scientifically unjustified. Rather than adding a general label about the process with which a plant variety was developed, it would make more sense to label food so that consumers are informed about what is actually in or on the food. But this, too, is not necessarily helpful. For some people it may be informative to read a label that says, may contain traces of carbamate pesticides, which at high concentrations are known to cause death of animals or may contain trace amounts of purified Bacillus thuringiensis protein, which kill Leptidoptera (a class of insects). But is it helpful to most consumers who are not familiar with the science ... 

The toxicity associated with SM is quite profound. The Army s Chemical Defense Equipment Process Action Team estimated in 1994 that a 900 mg-min/m SM vapor exposure would be lethal in 2-10 min, based on animal studies (National Research Council Review, 1997). Fortunately, in the battlefield, lethality has been limited. Only 1-3% of exposed soldiers died from SM exposure after WWI, and mortality mostly was not a direct consequence of SM, but rather the indirect effect of secondary respiratory infections. The 1999 Material Safety Data Sheet, put out by the US Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, USA Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, has estimated the LD50 of a skin exposure to sullur mustard as lOOmg/kg. This roughly translates into as little as 7 ml of neat SM (i.e. 8.9 g) spread over the skin resulting in the death of a 80 kg adult (Department of the Army, MSDS, 1999). The cornea, of course, is more sensitive than the skin. Below we review three chief toxic effects of severe SM exposure to the cornea. 

The Canada Safety Council is a national, nongovernment, charitable organization dedicated to safety. Our mission is to lead in the national effort to reduce preventable deaths, injuries and economic loss in public and private places throughout Canada. We serve as a credible, reliable resource for safety information, education and awareness in all aspects of Canadian life—in traffic, at home, at work and at leisure. 

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