Internet: http://www.bls.gov/ro3/home.htm
INFORMATION: Gerald Perrins PLS - 3856
(215) 597-3282 FOR RELEASE:
MEDIA CONTACT: Sheila Watkins THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2002
(215) 861-5600
WASHINGTON AREA FATALITIES FROM INJURIES ON THE JOB, 2000
Fatal work injuries for the Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.V.
Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) totaled 74 in 2000,
unchanged from 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of
Labor Statistics announced today. Regional Commissioner Sheila
Watkins noted that the leading cause of work injury deaths by
detailed event was homicides (16), mainly shootings (12). Deaths
resulting from falls to a lower level (15), primarily from roofs
(9), made up one-fifth of the work-related fatality count.
Highway crashes, the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities
nationwide, accounted for 10 deaths in the Washington area, or 14
percent of the total. (See table A.)
Table A. Fatal occupational injuries in the Washington PMSA and
Washington, D.C., by selected event, 1993-2000
Total Highway Homicides Falls to
fatalities crashes lower level
Year Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Washington PMSA
1993 81 13 16 28 35 5 6
1994 73 12 16 25 34 10 14
1995 75 12 16 25 33 5 7
1996 79 15 19 15 19 10 13
1997 72 9 13 13 18 15 21
1998 63 11 17 15 24 8 13
1999 74 16 22 14 19 12 16
2000 74 10 14 16 22 15 20
Washington, DC
1993 23 -- -- 19 83 -- --
1994 21 -- -- 16 76 -- --
1995 16 -- -- 10 63 -- --
1996 19 -- -- 9 47 -- --
1997 23 -- -- 9 39 5 22
1998 13 -- -- 6 46 -- --
1999 14 -- -- -- -- 5 36
2000 13 -- -- 7 54 -- --
NOTE: Categories that do not meet publication criteria are not shown.
Washington PMSA homicides (16) in 2000 were not much
different from the previous year, but were considerably less than
the metropolitan series high of 28 recorded in 1993. For those
workplace homicides in the PMSA where the motive could be
ascertained, robbery was the motivating factor accounting for
over half of these fatalities.
Half of the fatal occupational injuries in the PMSA took
place in three counties. Thirteen work-related fatalities
occurred in the District of Columbia and twelve each in
Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virginia. (See
chart 1.)
Chart 1. Percent distribution of workplace fatalities in the
Washington PMSA by county of occurrence, 2000
(Chart available in printed and fax -on-demand copies only.)
Nationwide, the number of fatal work injuries was 5,915 in
2000, a decline of about 2 percent from the previous year despite
an increase in employment. The number of job-related deaths from
highway crashes declined for the first time since the fatality
census was conducted in 1992. Fatal injuries resulting from
electrocutions and being struck by an object were also down.
Fatalities from job-related falls to a lower level and homicides,
on the other hand, both increased. On average, about 16 workers
were fatally injured each day in the United States during 2000.
(See table B.)
Highway crashes continued as the leading cause of on-the-job
fatalities in the nation during 2000, accounting for 23 percent
of the deaths. Homicides and falls to a lower level each made up
11 percent of national fatalities, and workers being struck by an
object accounted for 10 percent of the total. Additional Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries data is available on the BLS
Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Data can
be accessed in two ways, through Create Customized Tables (multiple screens), which allows
quick access to particular items, or via the special request FTP
service, which allows access to an extensive collection of flat
text files. The Mid-Atlantic Information Office can provide
assistance accessing these files by calling (215) 597-3282.
Table B. Fatal occupational injuries in the United States by
selected major event groups, 1992-2000
Total Highway crashes Homicides Falls to lower level
Year fatalities Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1992 6,217 1,158 19 1,044 17 507 8
1993 6,331 1,243 20 1,074 17 533 8
1994 6,632 1,343 20 1,080 16 580 9
1995 6,275 1,346 21 1,036 17 578 9
1996 6,202 1,346 22 927 15 610 10
1997 6,238 1,393 22 860 14 653 10
1998 6,055 1,442 24 714 12 625 10
1999 1 6,054 1,496 25 651 11 634 10
2000 5,915 1,363 23 677 11 659 11
1 The BLS national news release issued August 17, 2000, reported a total of
6,023 fatal work injuries for calendar year 1999. Since then, an additional
31 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related
fatality count for 1999 to 6
Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in the Washington area:
Washington PMSA:
-- Fifty-eight percent of those fatally injured were white and
24 percent were black or African American. (See table 2.)
-- Workers aged 25-54--the prime working age group--experienced
over two-thirds of the fatalities in 2000 in the PMSA.
-- Seventy-eight percent of the workers killed on the job worked
for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed.
-- Four industry divisions made up nearly nine-tenths of the
workplace fatalities in the PMSA--construction, services,
transportation and public utilities and retail trade. (See
table 3.)
-- Four specific occupations accounted for almost half of all
work-related fatalities in the PMSA--motor vehicle operators
(13), non-supervisory construction tradesmen (9),
construction laborers (8) and non-supervisory mechanics and
repairers (6). (See table 4.)
Washington, D.C.:
-- Homicides (7) accounted for over half of the 13 workers who died
on the job in the District in 2000. Robbery was the primary
motive of job-related homicides in the District, when a reason
could be ascertained, accounting for 71 percent of the alleged
perpetrators. Forty-four percent of the homicides in the
Washington PMSA occurred in the District of Columbia.
-- Fifty-four percent of those fatally injured at work were
black or African American.
-- Operators, fabricators, and laborers accounted for nearly half of
the District's fatalities in 2000.
TECHNICAL NOTE
Data presented in this release is from the 2000 Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries (CFOI), a program conducted jointly with the
District of Columbia Department of Health; Maryland Department of
Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; Virginia Department of Labor and
Industry; and West Virginia Department of Labor. All 50 States and
the District of Columbia participate in the CFOI program. The program
provides workplace fatality data by occupational, industrial, and
demographic characteristics as well as type of event and is designed
to provide the safety and health community with verified counts of
fatal work injuries as well as basic information on these deaths that
can be used to help prevent future fatalities in the workplace.
Information on fatal occupational injuries was compiled from
a variety of administrative sources including death certificates,
motor vehicle traffic accident reports, medical examiners
reports, State and Federal workers' compensation reports, and
other government investigative reports. Each fatality was
substantiated by either two independent source documents or one
source document and a follow-up questionnaire to the employer or
other contact (excluding next-of-kin) who had knowledge about the
circumstances of the incident.
While the purpose of the Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries is to compile a complete count of traumatic workplace
fatalities, information was also collected on fatal occupational
illnesses that were recognized as work-related or that occurred
at work. (There is not necessarily a causal relationship implied
for illness deaths occurring at work.) A comprehensive count of
fatalities resulting from occupational illnesses cannot be
produced from current data largely because of the latency period
associated with many occupational illnesses, as well as the
difficulty in associating illnesses with exposures in the
workplace. Therefore, fatal occupational illnesses are excluded
from the tables.
The Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.V., PMSA consists of the
District of Columbia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery,
and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; Arlington, Clarke,
Culpepper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince
William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and
Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and
Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; and Berkeley and Jefferson
Counties in West Virginia.
Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries in the Washington, PMSA and
in Washington, D.C., by event or exposure, 2000
Washington Washington,
Event or exposure1 PMSA D.C.
Number Percent Number Percent
Total fatalities: 74 100 13 100
Contact with objects and
equipment 9 12 -- --
Caught in or compressed by
equipment or objects 5 7 -- --
Falls ……… 16 22 -- --
Fall to lower level 15 20 -- --
Fall from roof 9 12 -- --
Exposure to harmful substances
or environments 9 12 -- --
Contact with electric current 9 12 -- --
Contact with overhead
power lines 7 9 -- --
Transportation incidents 16 22 -- --
Highway 10 14 -- --
Collision between vehicles,
mobile equipment 8 11 -- --
Fires and explosions 5 7 -- --
Assaults and violent acts 19 26 8 62
Homicides 16 22 7 54
Shootings 12 16 5 38
1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness
Classification Structures.
(See note at end of tables.)
Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries in the Washington, PMSA and
in Washington, D.C., by selected demographic characteristics,
2000
Washington Washington,
Characteristic PMSA D.C.
Number Percent Number Percent
Total fatalities: 74 100 13 100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers 58 78 -- --
Self-employed1 16 22 -- --
Age
Under 25 years -- -- -- --
25 to 34 years 16 22 -- --
35 to 44 years 23 31 -- --
45 to 54 years 12 16 -- --
55 to 64 years 12 16 -- --
65 years and over 6 8 -- --
Race and Hispanic origin
White 43 58 -- --
Black or African American. 18 24 7 54
Hispanic or Latino 5 7 -- --
Asian 5 7 -- --
1 Includes paid and unpaid family workers, and may include owners
of incorporated businesses, or members of partnerships.
(See note at end of tables.)
Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries in the Washington, PMSA and
in Washington, D.C., by industry, 2000
SIC Washington Washington,
Industry code1 PMSA D.C.
Number Percent Number Percent
Total fatalities: 74 100 13 100
Private sector: 69 93 11 85
Construction 27 36 -- --
General building contractors 15 5 7 -- --
Heavy construction, except
building 16 6 8 -- --
Special trade contractors 17 16 22 -- --
Roofing, siding, and sheet
metal work 176 6 8 -- --
Transportation and
public utilities 11 15 -- --
Local and interurban
passenger transit 41 5 7 -- --
Retail trade 10 14 -- --
Food stores 54 5 7 -- --
Grocery stores 541 5 7 -- --
Services 16 22 -- --
Auto repair, services, and
parking 75 5 7 -- --
Government2 5 7 -- --
1 Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 Edition.
2 Includes fatalities to workers employed by governmental
organizations regardless of industry.
(See note at end of tables.)
Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries in the Washington, PMSA and
in Washington, D.C., by occupation, 2000
Washington Washington,
Occupation1 PMSA D.C.
Number Percent Number Percent
Total fatalities: 74 100 13 100
Managerial and professional
specialty 13 18 -- --
Executive, administrative,
and managerial occupations 9 12 -- --
Technical, sales, and
administrative support 9 12 -- --
Sales occupations 7 9 -- --
Service occupations 5 7 -- --
Precision production, craft,
and repair 19 26 -- --
Mechanics and repairers 7 9 -- --
Mechanics and repairers,
except supervisors 6 8 -- --
Construction trades 10 14 -- --
Construction trades, except
supervisors 9 12 -- --
Operators, fabricators, and
laborers 25 34 6 46
Transportation and
material moving operations 14 19 -- --
Motor vehicle operators 13 18 -- --
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers 9 12 -- --
Construction laborers 8 11 -- --
1 Based on the 1990 Occupational Classification System developed
by the Bureau of the Census.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not
shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals due to
rounding. Categories that do not meet publication criteria are
not shown.
Last Modified Date: August 13, 2002
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