|
CONN-OSHA Annual Survey Shows 72,300 Injuries and
Illnesses in Connecticut Workplaces During 2003
A total of
72,300 injuries and illnesses were reported in Connecticut’s public and private
sector workplaces during 2003, according to the Annual Survey of Occupational
Injuries and Illnesses compiled by the Department of Labor’s CONN-OSHA division.
The total translates into a rate of 5.5 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent full-time
workers. The rate of injuries and illnesses declined from 5.7 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0
equivalent full-time workers in 2002. The decline is a result of a 5.6 percent
decline in the number of cases reported and a 2.1 percent decrease in the number
of hours worked.
The private
sector rate decreased from 5.4 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent workers in 2002 to 5.1
in 2003. The public sector – state government and local municipal government
operations – also declined in 2003 to a rate of 8.6, down from 8.8 in 2002.
Revisions to the Survey
Change
in industry classifications:
Beginning with the 2003 reference year, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and
Illnesses began using the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Prior to 2003, the survey used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
system. The substantial differences between these systems result in breaks in
series for industry data. Users are advised against making comparisons between
the 2003 industry categories and the results from previous years. The only
comparisons possible are those at the sector totals mentioned above, comparing
the 2003 data with 2002 for private sector, public sector and all industry
levels.
Connecticut Public Sector
The
incidence rate for Connecticut’s state and local government employees was
measured at 8.6 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent full-time workers in 2003, down from
the rate of 8.8 registered in 2002. Local municipal government operations
declined from a rate of 8.9 in 2002 to 8.7 in 2003 while state government
decreased from 8.8 to 8.3 over the same time period. The rate of total
recordable cases in the public sector is significantly higher than the private
sector rate of 5.1 primarily due to hazardous occupations unique to the public
sector such as police officers and firefighters. Overall, the public sector
contributed 13,700 of Connecticut’s 72,300 work-related injuries and illnesses
(19%) while providing 13% of the employment.
National
Rates and Totals
A total of
4.4 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported in private industry
workplaces during 2003, resulting in a rate of 5.0 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent
full-time workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department
of Labor. The rate of injuries and illnesses declined from 5.3 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0
equivalent full-time workers in 2002. Approximately 2.3 million injuries and
illnesses were cases with days away from work, job transfer or restriction; that
is, they required recuperation away from work, transfer to another job,
restricted duties at work, or a combination of these actions. The remaining 2.1
million injuries and illnesses were other recordable cases that did not result
in time away from work. The incidence rate for cases with days away from work,
job transfer or restriction was 2.6 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 workers, and the rate for
other recordable cases was 2.4.
Industry Comparisons
To account
for differences in industry employment and hours worked, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics calculates incidence rates relating the number of injuries and/or
illnesses to employee
hours in
the workplace. This can be found in footnote 1, table 1. Every employer is
categorized in one of 20 industry sectors which make up the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS). The 2003 injury and illness rates ranged
from 8.6 cases per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent full-time workers in State and local
government, to 0.9 in Finance and insurance.
Highest
Rate Industries (Table 1)
An
examination of the industries with the Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office highest rates of occupational injury
and illness shows that the public sector continues to be the most hazardous. The
public sector had six of the Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office highest rates with local government contributing
the top three industries: waste management and remediation services (34.0 cases
per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 equivalent full-time workers); public works – street & highway (25.5);
and justice, public order and safety activities (20.9). These industries were
followed by private sector warehousing and storage (17.4), couriers and
messengers (16.6), nursing and residential care facilities (16.3), and primary
metal manufacturing (14.8). State government health care and social assistance
(14.1), local government water, sewerage and other systems (13.9) and local
government parks and recreation (13.6) round out the top-ten list.
“DART”
Cases (Table 2)
More than
half of the 72,300 cases in 2003 (40,200) were cases involving days away from
work, restriction or job transfer. These cases required recuperation away from
work, transfer to another job, restricted duties at work, or a combination of
these actions. Of these cases, the majority (25,200) involved days away from
work with or without job transfer or restriction while the remainder (14,900
cases) involved transfer or restriction only.
Injuries
(Table 3)
Of the
72,300 nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2003, 67,800 (94%) were injuries that
resulted in either lost worktime, medical treatment other than first aid, loss
of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job.
Injury rates are generally higher for mid-sized establishments employing 50 to
249 workers than for smaller or larger establishments. However, this pattern
does not hold within certain industry divisions.
Illnesses (Table 4)
There were
about 4,600 newly reported cases of occupational illnesses in Connecticut in
2003, just over 6% of the total number of injuries and illnesses reported
statewide. Approximately 30% of the reported occupational illnesses (1,400
cases) were in the manufacturing sector.
Survey Notes
The Survey
of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses is a Federal/State program in which
employer reports were collected from about 183,700 private industry
establishments nationwide in 2003 and processed by State agencies cooperating
with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Connecticut DOL sampled
approximately 4,500 establishments in the private and public sectors. The survey
measures nonfatal injuries and illnesses only. The survey excludes the
self-employed; farms with fewer than 11 employees; private households; Federal
government agencies; and, for national
estimates, employees in State and local government agencies. The annual survey
provides
estimates of the number and frequency (incidence rates) of workplace injuries
and illnesses based on logs kept by private and public sector employers during
the year. These records reflect not only the year’s injury and illness
experience, but also the employers’ understanding of which cases are work
related under recordkeeping rules revised by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor and made effective on January 1,
2002.
Data in
this release mark the first time
for the Survey of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses that establishments are classified by
industry based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System Manual,
as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. NAICS recognizes hundreds of
new businesses in the United States economy, most of which are in the service
providing sector. NAICS classifies establishments into a detailed industry based
on the production processes and provided services. As a result of the conversion
to NAICS, the estimates by industry from the 2003 survey are not comparable with
those from prior years.
Occupational injury and illness data for coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and
for railroad activities were provided by the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety
and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Department of Transportation’s Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA), respectively. Neither of these agencies adopted
the revised OSHA recordkeeping requirements for 2003. Therefore, estimates for
these industries for 2003 are not comparable with estimates for other
industries.
The survey
estimates of occupational injuries and illnesses are based on a scientifically
selected probability sample, rather than a census of the entire population.
Because the data are based on a sample survey, the injury and illness estimates
probably differ from the figures that would be obtained from all units covered
by the survey. To determine the precision of each estimate, a standard error was
calculated. The standard error defines a range (confidence interval) around the
estimate. The approximate 95-percent confidence interval is the estimate plus or
minus twice the standard error. The standard error also can be expressed as a
percent of the estimate, or the relative standard error. For example, the
national 2003 incidence rate for all occupational injuries and illnesses of 5.0
per Published by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Project Management Office0 full-time workers in private industry has an estimated relative standard
error of about 0.6 percent. The 95-percent confidence interval would be 5.0
plus or minus 1.2 percent (2 times 0.6 percent) or 4.94 to 5.06. One can be 95%
confident that the “true” incidence rate falls within the confidence interval. A
relative standard error was calculated for each estimate from the survey and
will be available on the BLS Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm.
The number
of injuries and illnesses reported in any year can be influenced by the level of
economic activity, working conditions and work practices, worker experience and
training, and the number of hours worked. The data also are subject to
nonsampling error. The inability to obtain information about all cases in the
sample, mistakes in recording or coding the data, and definition difficulties
are examples of nonsampling error in the survey. Nonsampling errors are not
measured. However, BLS has implemented quality assurance procedures to minimize
nonsampling error in the survey.
2003 Summary Data Tables
2003 Case and Demographic
Data Tables
Safety
and Health Statistics |
