Trends of occupational fatalities involving machines, United States, 1992-2010

BackgroundThis paper describes trends of occupational machine-related fatalities from 1992-2010. We examine temporal patterns by worker demographics, machine types (e.g., stationary, mobile), and industries. MethodsWe analyzed fatalities from Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. We used injury source to identify machine-related incidents and Poisson regression to assess trends over the 19-year period. ResultsThere was an average annual decrease of 2.8% in overall machine-related fatality rates from 1992 through 2010. Mobile machine-related fatality rates decreased an average of 2.6% annually and stationary machine-related rates decreased an average of 3.5% annually. Groups that continued to be at high risk included older workers; self-employed; and workers in agriculture/forestry/fishing, construction, and mining. ConclusionAddressing dangers posed by tractors, excavators, and other mobile machines needs to continue. High-risk worker groups should receive targeted information on machine safety. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:1160-1173, 2015. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.