Understanding Why Some States Have High Numbers of Occupational Injuries and Fatalities

In 2002, the states with the highest rates of fatalities include Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and other states in the middle of the country.

Figure 1-10. Fatal occupational injury rates by State, 2002. Fatal occupational injury rates varied by State from 1.4 to 14.1 per 100,000 employed workers. (The U.S. rate was 4.0 per 100,000 employed workers in 2002.) Fatal occupational injuries exceeded 10 per 100,000 employed workers in Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana.
(Sources: BLS [2003a]; BLS [2003b].)

This is similar to the trend for fatal occupational injury rates for the twenty year period between 1980 and 2000.

Figure 2-17. Average annual rate of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers by State of death, 1980-2000. (All data for 1980-2000 exclude New York City.) The States with the highest fatality rates for occupational injury during 1980-2000 include Alaska (20.9 per 100,000 workers), Wyoming (14.9), Montana (11.1), Idaho (9.7), Mississippi (9.6), and West Virginia (9.6). The greatest numbers of fatal occupational injuries occurred in California (12,221), Texas (11,635), Florida (7,252), Illinois (5,145), and Pennsylvania (4,420).
(Source: NIOSH [2003].)

Illnesses: The Dangerous States

The states with the highest rates of occupational illnesses include some of the states with the highest rates of fatalities. However, the states with highest rates of occupational illnesses are located in every part of the country. Also, when you look at the actual number of incidents of occupational illnesses as opposed to the rate per worker, additional states are involved.

Figure 1-26. Incidence rates for occupational illness in private industry by State, 2001. Occupational illness rates varied widely among the States, from 8.8 per 10,000 full-time workers in New Mexico to 142.6 in Maine. (The U.S. rate was 36.7 per 10,000 full-time workers.) Higher rates were reported in the Midwest. Lower rates were reported for States in the South and in the southern coastal and western mountain States.
(Source: BLS [2003d].)

Figure 1-25. Number of occupational illness cases in private industry by State, 2001. The number of new cases among reporting States ranged from 400 to 41,700. States with the highest numbers included California (41,700), Michigan (30,200), Texas (17,200), and Illinois (14,500).
(Source: BLS [2003d].)

Different factors contribute to work related illnesses. The maps provided below show different risk factors and their prevalence in the different states of the nation.

Blood Lead Levels

Figure 2-34. Average State rates of elevated BLLs per 100,000 employed workers, 1998-2001: (A) 25 µg/dL or greater, and (B) 40 µg/dL or greater. During 1998-2001, the mean State rates for adults with BLLs of 25 µg/dL or greater ranged from 2.6 to 40.9 per 100,000 employed workers. Among the reporting States, those with the highest rates included Pennsylvania (40.9), New Hampshire (28.4), and Alabama (27.5). The lowest rate was reported by Arizona (2.6). State rates may truly reflect the magnitude of the lead exposure problem, but they may be biased because of varying degrees of completeness of blood lead testing carried out by employers among the States.
(Sources: NIOSH [2002c]; CDC [2002d].)

During 1998-2001, the mean State rates for adults with BLLs of 40 µg/dL or greater ranged from 0.4 to 8.8 per 100,000 employed workers. Among the reporting States, those with the highest rates included Alabama (8.8), New Hampshire (7.5), and North Carolina (7.0). The lowest rate was reported by Arizona (0.4). (Note: Nebraska provided 2 years of data, and South Carolina provided 3 years. All other States provided 4 years of data for this figure.)
(Sources: NIOSH [2002c]; CDC [2002d].)

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Figure 2-37. Number of MSD cases involving days away from work in private industry by State, 2001. The number of new MSD cases within reporting States ranged from 1,589 to 52,136 in 2001. The States with the highest numbers of cases included California (52,136), New York (33,773), and Texas (32,838).
(Source: BLS [2003d].)

Figure 2-38. Rates of MSD cases involving days away from work in private industry by State, 2001. The rate of new MSD cases within reporting States ranged from 35.0 to 141.5 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2001. The States with the highest rates include West Virginia (141.5), Alaska (123.5), and Washington (112.1). BLS reported an overall rate of 57.5 per 10,000 full-time workers for the United States in 2001.
(Source: BLS [2003d].)

Repeat Trauma Disorders

Figure 2-58. Number of disorders associated with repeated trauma in private industry by State, 2001. Within reporting States, the number of repeated trauma disorders ranged from 100 to 26,700 cases in 2001. States with the highest numbers included California (26,700), Michigan (22,700), Texas (11,600), and Illinois (9,500).
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Figure 2-59. Incidence rates for disorders associated with repeated trauma in private industry by State, 2001. Incidence rates for disorders associated with repeated trauma varied by State in 2001, from a low of 2.9 per 10,000 full-time workers in New Mexico to a high of 120.1 in Maine. The U.S. rate was 23.8 per 10,000 full-time workers. Lower rates were reported for States in the West, the Southwest, and the South.
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Occupational Injuries Due To Physical Agents

Figure 2-149. Number of occupational disorders due to physical agents in private industry by State, 2001. In 2001, the number of disorders due to physical agents within reporting States ranged from fewer than 50 cases to 1,300. States with the highest numbers included California (1,300), Michigan (1,200), Indiana (800), Illinois (700), and Wisconsin (700).
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Figure 2-150. Incidence rates for occupational disorders due to physical agents in private industry by State, 2001. Rates of occupational disorders due to physical agents vary among the States from a reported low of 0.2 per 10,000 full-time workers in Delaware to a high of 4.1 in Nebraska. The U.S. rate was 1.6 per 10,000 full-time workers.
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Occupational Poisoning

Figure 2-153. Number of occupational poisoning cases in private industry by State, 2001. The number of occupational poisoning cases within reporting States ranged from fewer than 50 to 300 in 2001. BLS reported a total of 2,800 occupational poisoning cases in 2001. States with the highest numbers included California (300), Illinois (200), Indiana (200), Michigan (200), Missouri (200), North Carolina (2002) and Texas (200).
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Figure 2-154. Incidence rates for occupational poisoning in private industry by State, 2001. Occupational poisoning rates varied from a low of less than 0.1 per 10,000 full-time workers in many States to a high of 1.2 per 10,000 full-time workers in Maine. The U.S. rate was 0.3 per 10,000 full-time workers.
(Source: BLS [2002].)

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Figure 2-166. Age-adjusted mortality rates for hypersensitivity pneumonitis in U.S. residents aged 15 and older by State, 1990-1999. States with higher hypersensitivity pneumonitis mortality rates during 1990-1999 were in the upper Midwest, the northern Plains and Mountain States, and New England. In the group of States with the highest mortality from hypersensitivity pneumonitis, rates ranged from three to five times the U.S. rate of 0.2 per million.
(Source: NIOSH [2002e].)

Malignant Mesothelioma

Figure 2-169. Age-adjusted mortality rates for malignant mesothelioma in U.S. residents aged 15 or older by State, 1999. The highest malignant mesothelioma mortality rates occurred in Alaska and Maine in 1999. The rates for each of these States were more than twice the national rate of 11.7 per million. States in the next highest rate group were widely dispersed, with a concentration on the eastern seaboard and in the West. The rates in these States were nearly 1.5 to 2 times the U.S. rate.
(Source: NIOSH [2002e].)

Asbestosis

Figure 2-176. Age-adjusted mortality rates for asbestosis in U.S. residents aged 15 or older by State, 1990-1999. Delaware and West Virginia had the highest asbestosis mortality rates during 1990-1999. States in the second highest mortality rate category were predominantly coastal States. All States in these two groupings had asbestosis mortality rates above the U.S. rate of 5.4 per million.
(Source: NIOSH [2002f].)

CWP: Pneumoconiosis

Figure 2-184. Age-adjusted mortality rates for CWP in U.S. residents aged 15 or older by State, 1990-1999. West Virginia had the highest CWP mortality rate-nearly 20 times the rate of 7.56 per million for the entire United States. The second highest rate category included the Appalachian and western coal mining regions.
(Source: NIOSH [2002f].)

Why Are Certain States More Dangerous to Work in Than Others?

Different states have different industries that are dependent on their natural resources. For example, Alaska has one of the highest work related fatality rates in the country. It is also home to the Alaska fishing industry which is one of the industry’s with the highest fatality rate in the country. Maine is also home to a large fishing industry as well as a large trucking industry. Maine has a high rate of occupational illness and a University of Maine researcher is looking into whether the dangerous fishing and trucking industries are complying with existing safety regulations in an effort to make the industries safer.

Likely, it is a combination of different elements including the nature of dangerous industries, the existence and enforcement of safety regulations and weather related conditions that make some states more dangerous to work in than others.