Occupational injury

This chapter considers the economics of occupational injuries that do not occur during train operations. These comprise a quarter of employee fatalities and eighty-five percent of employee injuries. They typically occur during maintenance of track, in railroad workshops, and when employees slip and fall. Employee fatalities and injuries that result from operational accidents are considered later in the book. 

The simplest model of the labor market interaction is shown in figure 10.1. The model represents a perfectly-competitive marketplace for workers with similar skills to those required for railroad work. On the vertical axis is the wage rate and on the horizontal axis is the occupational safety risk, measured by the rate of workplace injuries. Representative firms from two industries, I and II, compete to obtain labor services. 

Break-even iso-profit curves for the two industries are shown as x i and ttu- A break-even iso-profit curve shows all of the combinations of wage levels and job risks that result zero industry profits. They slope upward because higher wages are only possible if the industry reduces its investment in equipment and practices that make the workplace safer. 

In isolation, an industry would be indifferent as to which combination of risk and wages it offered. However, that is not the case when there are a number of industries competing for labor. For example, industry I could not choose the combination at point C because it would be unable to attract any labor. At this point, industry II offers workers better combinations of wage and risk. 

If the model is expanded to represent many industries, the choices for each industry would be narrowed to just one possible combination. That would be at a 

Major Industry Number of Deaths Fatal Rate 

Source Courtesy of the BLS National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries In 2006. 

You may have different occupations in your workplace. You will want to pay special attention to any of those occupations that carry the highest risk of death. Realize that some work occupations will not have the same exposure as others. Hence, you need to understand the types of events or exposures that are most likely to affect the occupations in your facility or worksite. A summary of the varied occupations and number of deaths occurring in them is found in Table 9.3. 

As you identify the sources of energy whose release could be injurious or deadly in your work area, you will need to ensure that these sources are prevented from releasing their force on unsuspecting workers. By becoming knowledgeable regarding the types, causes, occupations, and industries that have fatalities, you can take steps to ensure that occupational deaths do not take place at your company. 

According to the BLS approximately 2.1 million of the 4.1 million were injuries that resulted in days away from work or restricted work activity. Now keep in mind that the causes of trauma injuries are usually the unplanned release of energy or the contact with an energy source. These injuries may result in the need for simple to complex medical care. Each of these events comes with an expense involved. There is direct medical care and potential for the need of workers compensation 

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Automotive and architectural laminates of PVB develop maximum impact strength near 20°C, as shown in Figure 2. This balance is obtained by the plasticizer-to-resin ratio and the molecular weight of the resins. It has been adjusted to this optimum temperature based on environmental conditions and automobile population at various ambient temperatures. The frequency and severity of vehicle occupant injuries vs temperature ranges at the accident location have been studied (5), and the results confirm the selection of the maximum performance temperature and decreasing penetration resistance at temperature extremes. 

Additional improvements have been incorporated since 1966 with the availabihty of thinner float glass. Glass thickness and interlayer thickness have been studied to optimize the product for occupant retention, occupant injury, and damage to the windshield from external sources (30,31). The thinner float glass windshields are more resistant to stone impacts than the early plate glass windshields. The majority of laminated windshields are made of two pieces of 2—2.5 mm aimealed glass and 0.76 mm of controlled adhesion interlayer. 

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in the United States hy Industry, 1990, bulletin 2399 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., Apr. 1992. General Reference... 

The chemical process industry is vast and varied. The value of chemicals and chemical products in 1993 was 0.5 trillion for the Ll.S," involving 67,000 chemical engineers, 98,000 chemists. There were 5.5 non-fatal occupational injuries per 100 employees in 1995 involving chemical and allied products, and 4.8 per 100 workers in petroleum and coal products, There were 101 fatalities due to exposure to caustic, noxious or allergenic substances and 208 deaths from fires and explosions in 1995. 

Improvements in safety and environmental performance will come only slowly. Major accidents are rare, even with poorly managed programs, and any reduction in these will be evident only after several years. Areas where early improvements might be expected are spill response and occupational injuries where improved processes should be effective soon after installation. Work place exposure and environmental emissions may improve over a period of several months. 

Peak Side-on Overpressure, psi (bar) Consequences to Buildings Possible Building Occupant Injury Consequences... 

KY Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, Occupational Injury Prevention Program Manager 25... 

The OSHA incidence rate is based on cases per 100 worker years. A worker year is assumed to contain 2000 hours (50 work weeks/year X 40 hours/week). The OSHA incidence rate is therefore based on 200,000 hours of worker exposure to a hazard. The OSHA incidence rate is calculated from the number of occupational injuries and illnesses and the total number of employee hours worked during the applicable period. The following equation is used ... 

Incident rate Number of occupational injuries and/or illnesses or lost workdays per 100 full-time employees. 

Lost workdays Number of days (consecutive or not) after but not including the day of injury or illness during which the employee would have worked but could not do so, that is, during which the employee could not perform all or any part of his or her normal assignment during all or any part of the workday or shift because of the occupational injury or illness. 

Occupational injury Any injury such as a cut, sprain, or burn that results from a work accident or from a single instantaneous exposure in the work environment. 

Occupational illness Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment. It includes acute and chronic illnesses or diseases that may be caused by inhalation, absorption, ingestion, or direct contact. 

Recordable cases Cases involving an occupational injury or occupational illness, including deaths. 

Recordable nonfatal cases without lost workdays Cases of occupational injury or illness that do not involve fatalities or lost workdays but do result in (1) transfer to another job or termination of employment or (2) medical treatment other than first aid or (3) diagnosis of occupational illness or (4) loss of consciousness or (5) restriction of work or motion. 

American Petroleum Institute (API), Summary of Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities in the Petroleum Industry, (Annual Report), API, Washington, D.C. 

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Reviewed only... 

Workers compensation benefits pay workers for medical expenses and lost wages due to occupational injury or illness. In exchange for carrying workers compensation insurance, companies are protected against legal... 

CFR 1904, Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Effective January 1, 2002 The US OSHA website for recordkeeping revisions is http //www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/index.html... 

Serious Injury—The classification for an occupational injury which includes all disabling work injuries and non-disabling work injuries as follows eye injuries requiring treatment by a physician, fractures, injuries requiring hospitalization, loss of consciousness, injuries requiring treatment by a doctor and injuries requiring restriction of motion or work, or assignment to another job. 

Department of Labor. 1999. National Census of Fatal and Nonfatal Occupational Injuries. December. Washington, D.C. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The 1993 Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 110 cases of dermatitis attributed to calcium hydroxide (and other calcium oxides) exposure the skin disorders resulted in a median of 9 days away from work, with 27% having more than 20 days away from work. ... 

Ocular bums comprise about 7-18% of ocular trauma presenting to emergency departments in the USA and eye injuries account for about 3 % of total occupational injuries [6]. Most of these (approximately 84%) are chemical bums. About 15-20% of patients with facial bums also have ocular bums. The ratio of acid/alkali chemical ocular bums is 1 1-1 4 [6]. 

Overall, chemical bums comprised 0.6% of total occupational injuries and illnesses resulting in lost work time and chemicals and chemical products accounted for 1.6 % of such injuries or illnesses [17]. The incidence of chemical bums (not specified as to eye and/or skin) was 0.8 per 10,000 full-time workers. The incidence rate for the Chemicals and Chemical Products industry segment was 2.1 per 10,000 fulltime workers. 

Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, 2006. United States Bureau of Labor, News, Whashington, DC, November 8, 2007. Accessed online in 2008 http //www.bls.gov/iff/home.htm. 

D. F. Huelke, W. G. Grabb, and R. O. Dingman, Automobile Occupant Injuries from Striking the Windshield, Report No. Bio-5, Highway Safety Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1967. 

Melamed S, Oksenberg A. Excessive daytime sleepiness and risk of occupational injuries in non-shift daytime workers. Sleep 2002 25 315-322. 

Castillo DN, Landen DD, Layne LA. Occupational injury deaths of 16- and 17-year-olds in the United States. Am J Public Health 1994 84(4) 646-649. 

You might be surprised who has the most dangerous jobs. They are not the employees you first think about. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides an interesting insight to the safety of workers. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries administered by the BLS, in conjunction with participating state agencies, compiles comprehensive and timely information on fatal work injuries occurring in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

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