The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that work-related injuries and illnesses in the private sector declined slightly for the seventh straight year.

According to the BLS, there were 5.7 million injuries and illnesses reported in 1999, compared with 5.9 million in 1998. The incidence rate in 1999 was 6.3 cases of injury and illness per 100 full-time workers, compared with 6.7 cases in 1998. BLS said the incidence rate for 1999 was the lowest since the agency began reporting the information in the early 1970s.

BLS said that 2.7 million of the total injuries and illnesses were lost workday cases requiring recuperation away from work or restricted duties at work or both. There were 2.8 million of these most serious injury and illness cases reported in 1998.

The incidence rate for lost workday cases in 1999 was 3.0 cases per 100 full-time workers, compared with 3.1 cases in 1998. The incidence rate for cases requiring days away from work declined to 1.9 in 1999 from 2.0 in 1998. However, the incidence rate for cases requiring restricted activity remained level at 1.2 cases per 100 full-time workers.

Injuries

BLS said there were 5.3 million injuries reported in 1999, compared with about 5.5 million in 1998.

Nine industries, each having at least 100,000 injuries, accounted for about 1.6 million injuries, or 30 percent of the 5.3 million total injuries. All but one of these industries were in the service-producing sector.

The incidence rate for injuries alone was 5.9 in 1999, compared with 6.2 in 1998. The highest rates were reported in construction, with 8.4, and manufacturing – where most GCIU workers are employed – with 8.0.

Printing and paper industry

In the printing industry, the incidence rate for injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers was 5.0 in 1999, compared with 5.4 in 1998. The lost workday incidence rate was 2.6 in 1999, compared with 2.8 in 1998.

The incidence rate for injuries alone in printing and publishing was 4.6 in 1999, compared with 4.9 in 1998.

In the paper and allied products industry, the incidence rate for injuries and illnesses remained above the national average at 7.0 in 1999, compared with 7.1 cases per 100 full-time workers in 1998. The lost workday incidence rate remained the same in 1999 at 3.7.

The incidence rate for injuries alone in the paper-producing sector was 6.5 in 1999, compared with 6.6 in 1998.

Illnesses

BLS said there were 372,000 newly reported cases of occupational illness in 1999, compared with 392,000 in 1998.

Of those, 246,700 cases were disorders, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, associated with repeated trauma. While the number of reported repeated trauma cases declined in 1999, repeated trauma disorders accounted for 66 percent of all illnesses reported in 1999, compared with 65 percent in 1998.

Labor Secy. Elaine L. Chao said the BLS report on ergonomic-related injuries "demonstrates the need for a solid, comprehensive approach to ergonomics. It also points to a need to address injuries before they occur through prevention and compliance assistance, rather than just rely on reactionary methods."

The Republican majorities in the House and the Senate at the beginning of the year killed the Clinton administration's ergonomics rule. President Bush had urged the repeal of the long-sought standard that the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions said would have prevented tens of thousands of injuries.

There were 44,600 reported cases of skin diseases or disorders in 1999. Some 16,500 cases involved respiratory conditions due to toxic agents and 15,100 cases were disorders due to physical agents.

Fatalities in 2000

In a separate report, BLS said there were 5,915 fatal work injuries in 2000, compared with 6,054 in 1999 – a decline of about 2 percent.

BLS said the number of job-related deaths from highway incidents, which is the most frequent fatal work injury, declined for the first time since the fatality census was first conducted in 1992.

The number of fatal highway incidents declined by about 9 percent in 2000. However, highway crashes accounted for nearly 25 percent of the fatal work injury total.

Deaths related to assaults and violent acts accounted for 16 percent of total fatalities. There were 929 deaths reported in this category in 2000, compared with 909 in 1999. The number of homicides at work sites increased to 677 in 2000 from 651 in 1999.

Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 17 percent of total work-related fatalities, with 1,005 deaths reported in 2000, compared with 1,030 deaths in 1999.

Deaths resulting from on-the-job falls increased slightly to 734 in 2000, which BLS said was the highest annual total recorded by the fatality census.