Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
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8 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com HEALTH & SAFETY NEWS Overall number of U.S. fatal occupational injuries down By Amanda Silliker A preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries was recorded in the United States in 2012, down from a revised count of 4,693 fatal work injuries in 2011, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2012 total represents the second lowest preliminary total since the CFOI was fi rst conducted in 1992. The rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2012 was 3.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, down from a rate of 3.5 per 100,000 in 2011. CHARACTERISTIC OF WORKER Fatal work injuries involving workers under 16 years of age nearly doubled, rising from 10 in 2011 to 19 in 2012 — the highest total since 2005. Fourteen of these young people were employed as agricultural workers. Fatal work injuries in the other age groups declined in 2012. Fatal work injuries among workers 55 years of age and older declined for the second straight year. Fatal injuries to both wage and salary workers and self-employed workers declined in 2012. TYPE OF INCIDENT Transportation incidents accounted for more than two out of every fi ve fatal work injuries in 2012. Of the trans- portation-related fatal injuries, about 58 per cent were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles. Non-roadway incidents, such as a tractor overturn in a farm fi eld, accounted for another 13 per cent of the transportation-related fatal injuries. Fatal work injuries among those in aircraft incidents in 2012 declined by 14 per cent from 2011, accounting for 125 fatalities or about seven per cent of the transportation total. Work-related suicides declined 10 per cent from 2011 totals, but violence accounted for about 17 per cent of all fatal work injuries in 2012. Fatal falls, slips or trips took the lives of 668 workers in 2012, down slightly from 2011. Falls to a lower level accounted for 544 or about 81 per cent of those fatalities. While the total number of fatal work injuries involving contact with objects and equipment in 2012 remained about the same as in 2011, The young and new on the job most affected by heat stress: Study By Amanda Silliker W orkers who have been on the job for less than two months are at a greater risk of heatstrokes, sunstrokes and other health-related illnesses, according to a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH). Young men working in manual occupations are most vulnerable to extreme heat. The more inexperienced they are on the job, the more likely they are to need time off work to recover from heatstroke, sunstroke, fainting and other forms of heat illnesses, found the study. These heightened risks are seen even after accounting for the fact that this group of work- ers — young, manual labourers new to the job — are already at greater risk of work injury, said Melanie Fortune, a research associate at Toronto-based IWH and lead researcher of the study. For example, manual workers accounted for 52 per cent of all lost-time claims, but they accounted for 59 per cent of all heat-related lost-time claims. Likewise, workers who were less than one month on the job accounted for 4.2 per cent of all lost-time claims. But their heat-related illnesses accounted for nearly twice that proportion, which was 8.2 per cent of all heat-related lost-time claims, found the study. Looking at job tenure, workers on the job from one to two months accounted for 5.9 per cent of all lost-time claims, but nine per cent of all heat-related lost-time claims. "That matches what we know about the importance of workers being acclimatized to their work environments," said Fortune. Someone working actively in 32 C temperatures, for example, wouldn't feel the heat effects as severely after two weeks as on the fi rst day. "But, for new workers who come into heated environments or labour conditions to which they're not acclimatized, we expect that they'd be more at risk." The study was carried out using two sets of population-based data. One was hospital emergency room (ER) records where the visit was recorded as work-related. The other was lost-time claims across Ontario for the period of 2004 to 2010, obtained from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. In the seven years covered by the study, emergency rooms in Ontario treated 785 cases of heat illnesses incurred at work. During that time, workers fi led 612 lost-time claims for heat illnesses. The monthly incidence rates of heat illness were 1.6 per 1,000,000 workers, according to ER records, and 1.7 per 1,000,000 workers, according to claims data. One of the more notable fi ndings in the study was the fact that the illnesses tended to occur in clusters. The ER visits and lost-time illnesses occurred on just 12 per cent of all days during the seven-year period. More than one-half (55 per cent) occurred during groups of more than one day. One particularly hot spell over two days in August 2006 accounted for 101 instances (or 13 per cent) of all heat-related ER visits in the seven years. "We know from other research that after a heat exposure, our bodies really need time to recover," said Fortune. "Let's say we have a string of hot days, and you don't have air conditioning at home and you drink a beer after work to cool down, your body may not have recovered when you go back into work the next day." The report also looked at sectors with the highest risk of heat stress. Workers in government services accounted for 14.6 per cent of all heat illnesses, which was 2.3 times higher than their share of 6.3 per cent of all injuries. These workers did a lot of outdoor work such as maintaining parks, fi ghting forest fi res and collecting trash. That ratio — of 2.3 for government workers — was the highest of all the sectors. Agriculture had the second highest (1.9), followed by construction and business service, both at 1.4. Advance your professional knowledge and practice in working with adults in teaching and learning environments. We understand your need to balance career, life and education commitments. Pursue your studies at a pace that suits you, part time via online or site-based courses in a community near you. Our graduates apply their degrees in many sectors — business, industry, health care, social services, human resources, government, financial services, and manufacturing — where training and development require a solid foundation in the principles and practices of adult education. Apply and begin your BEd in Adult Education in January 2014. 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