How many loggers die each year

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Necessary Necessary. The most common cause of death for these workers is being struck by a garbage truck or other vehicle.

Ironworkers BLS Category: Structural iron and steel workers Fatal injury rate: 29 per , workers Total deaths : 15 Most common fatal accidents: Falls, slips, trips Ironworkers are responsible for installing iron and steel on buildings, bridges, and roads. Their work often consists of climbing up on large structures, unloading iron and steel, and signaling to crane operators.

They also use equipment to cut, bend, and weld iron and steel. Steel and iron are some of the primary reinforcing materials for large scale buildings. Falls are the most common fatal occupational accident for structural iron and steel workers.

These workers generally pick up cargo, food, laundry or other items from distribution centers or stores and deliver them to homes and businesses. They also may communicate with customers to coordinate deliveries, collect payment for goods, and process paperwork such as delivery signatures. Farmers BLS Category: Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers Fatal injury rate: 26 per , workers Total deaths : Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents Farmers are responsible for producing crops and dairy products and raising animals for food.

They are responsible for the process of planting and harvesting or feeding and caring for livestock. Additionally, farmers purchase supplies for their farms and purchase and maintain farming equipment. They also sell their crops or livestock on the open market.

Crashes, including tractor crashes, were the most common fatal injury for farmers. Firefighting supervisors BLS Category: First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers Fatal injury rate: 20 per , workers Total deaths : 14 Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents Firefighting supervisors are responsible for supervising and coordinating the work of firefighters.

This work includes the prevention and control of fires. Some of the tasks that these supervisors perform include communicating and dispatching vehicles, evaluating fire size and condition, training and evaluating firefighters, and maintaining firefighting equipment. The most common cause of death on the job for firefighting supervisors is traffic crashes, followed by fires and explosions. Power linemen BLS Category: Electrical power-line installers and repairers Fatal injury rate: 20 per , workers Total deaths : 29 Most common fatal accidents: Exposure to harmful substances or environments Power linemen are responsible for installing and maintaining overhead and underground power lines that supply electricity to homes and businesses.

In this job, these workers drive power maintenance equipment to job sites, climb electrical poles or use bucket trucks, and test, install, or otherwise maintain electrical equipment. The most common cause of death for power linemen is death from electrocution. Agricultural workers BLS Category: Miscellaneous agricultural workers Fatal injury rate: 20 per , workers Total deaths : Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents Agricultural workers are responsible for tending crops and livestock.

They may be tasked with planting, harvesting, and watering crops, along with maintaining irrigation systems and ditches. These workers can also use farm tools or equipment, as well as apply pesticides and fertilizers. For agricultural workers who work with livestock, they may be responsible for feeding animals and keeping animal living areas clean. Transportation incidents are the most common fatal accidents for agricultural workers, which can occur while these workers are moving between or to and from worksites.

Crossing guards Fatal injury rate: 19 per , workers Total deaths : 14 Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents Crossing guards are responsible for the flow of pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic at crosswalks, intersections, schools, and other places where pedestrians and vehicles come into contact with one another.

Eligible companies were contacted by mail and were asked to send back a form indicating the date day, month, year they first began using a feller-buncher during harvesting operations. The mailing process was modeled after the techniques suggested by Dillman for mail and phone surveys. The letter to the logging companies included an explanation of the goals of the research.

The date provided by each logging company noting when they first starting using a feller-buncher during harvesting operations was used to divide injury and employment data into pre and post timeperiods. Poisson regression, using SAS software SAS , was used to calculate rate ratios from the before and after time periods, and to assess statistical significance. Companies identified as using fellerbunchers were also pulled out and compared to the rest of the WV logging industry in both their pre and post time periods.

It was assumed that once the feller-buncher companies were pulled out of the industry as a whole, that the rest of the industry would represent companies not using feller-bunchers. Contacts from the two timber buying companies, the Appalachian Hardwood Center at West Virginia University, and the West Virginia Forestry Association provided a total of 28 logging companies.

Of these 28, three were based out of state, and had no employment data. Of the 25 left, 20 companies provided information on their feller-buncher start date, one declined to participate, and four did not respond. Two of the four non-respondents were missing from the employment files. Four of the 20 companies that provided a feller-buncher date were missing from the employment files. This left 16 companies that both had useable data to calculate rates with, and provided date of feller-buncher use.

Not all of these companies had data available prior to the time they started using a feller-buncher. Either due to missing data, or due to being new, five companies had post-feller-buncher data only. Eleven companies had data pre- and post-feller-buncher use. On average, each of the 11 companies had 2. The companies began using their machines at varied points in time; two companies started using their machines in , three in , four in , and two in The average number of employees reported per month prior to fellerbuncher use was 5.

The pre-feller-buncher injury claims rate for the 11 companies was The post-feller-buncher rate for the same companies was 5. Using Poisson regression there was a significant difference between the pre- and post time periods, with injury rate being 3. After using GEE to account for within-company correlation, the adjusted rate ratio was 2. The pre rate was The pre rate was 5. After adjusting for within-company correlation, the rate ratio was 3.

Feller-buncher companies were removed from the injury and employment datasets for the entire WV logging industry. An average overall non-feller-buncher rate was then calculated from the data. The injury claims rate for non-feller-buncher companies was The pre and post-feller-buncher time periods for the 11 companies were compared against this industry average.

There was no significant difference between the pre-fellerbuncher rate of feller-buncher companies and the average non-feller-buncher company claim rate Table 2. The average non-feller-buncher company claim rate for was significantly greater than the post-feller-buncher injury claims rate of feller-buncher companies.

Non-feller-buncher companies reported an average of 3 employees per year, based on data. The injury claims trend for the entire WV logging industry with feller-buncher companies removed was calculated for Yearly injury rates are shown in Figure 1. Three lines of evidence were used to reach this conclusion.

First, a pre and post analysis was done which showed a significant decline in injury rates after feller-buncher start date. These companies began using their feller-bunchers at different points in time, thus staggering the prepost data across a range of time periods.

Second these companies were compared to the rest of the West Virginia logging industry; their rates were found to be similar to the industry average before they started using a feller-buncher, but significantly lower than the industry average after they started using a feller-buncher.

Third, there was no general decline in injury claims rates in the WV logging industry as a whole from , rather there was a slight increase in injuries over this time period.

Figure 1. Injury claims rate for the rest of the West Virginia logging industry non-fellerbuncher users Additionally, companies that started using a feller-buncher reported an increase in the number of employees. One might expect that increased mechanization might lead to a reduction in the number of employees, but this did not appear to be the case.

In their analysis of logging-related fatalities, Myers and Fosbroke , found higher rates in the eastern portion of the United States, including West Virginia, and suggested this may be due in part to forest type primarily hardwood tree species and low levels of mechanization in harvesting.

Other papers describing logging injuries have hypothesized that increased mechanization should reduce numbers of injuries International Labour Organisation , Holman et al.

Two studies have looked quantitatively at the relationship between mechanization and injuries in the logging industry Laflamme and Cloutier , Shaffer and Milburn Both of these studies took the approach of comparing conventional or partially mechanized logging operations to fully mechanized logging operations during the same time period.

Yet fatality rates fluctuated within the same range for the past 25 years. From to , the industry averaged 1. From to , it averaged 1. The chance of being injured is lower yet the chance of being killed has not changed.

This winter, the workplace fatality press release will come out again, and newspapers will highlight the most dangerous jobs. It would be a well-deserved holiday gift for the industry.