News Category: Workplace Deaths
Durham manhole deaths raise issues about workplace safety on public projects
Local governments may soon be required to review a company’s workplace safety record before awarding them contracts for public works projects. The change is being considered following the deaths this summer of two Durham construction workers. Luis Castaneda Gomez and Jesus Martinez Benitez died while working in a manhole along U.S. 70 in Durham. Despite a spotty safety record, their employer, Triangle Grading and Paving, had been awarded a contract for a water line project by the City of Durham. The company had been investigated 31 times ...
Read More | No CommentsCurrent laws, employers not doing enough to protect America’s Workers
"Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect," a new report from the AFL-CIO blames weak health and safety laws, inadequate enforcement and weak penalties for the more than 5,000 workplace deaths that occur annually and the 50,000 deaths that result annually from occupational illnesses. The report's timing and findings are particularly relevant now in the wake of deadly mining accidents in West Virginia and industrial accidents in Washington and Connecticut that claimed dozens of workers' lives. Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO Safety and Health dir ...
Read More | No CommentsMen at much greater risk for workplace deaths, injuries
Men face a disproportionate risk of dying or being injured on the job, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The reason is simple: men are more likely to work in dangerous injuries such as construction (90 percent male) and manufacturing (70 percent male), where the bulk of workplace accidents and deaths occur. Female-dominated industries such as health care and education have fewer incidents of deaths and injuries. Approximately 7% of fatalities in 2008 were women, leaving men accounting for a whopping 93% of all w ...
Read More | No CommentsCould renewable energy save workers’ lives?
Could going green and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels reduce workplace injuries? Quite possibly, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin compared workplace injury risks for workers in renewable energy industries compared to traditional fossil fuel industries. Their findings? Switching to renewable energy could prevent 1,300 worker energy deaths over the next decade and also reduce the number of workplace injuries for the indus ...
Read More | No CommentsRise of deaths at work in North Carolina disturbing
Just got a tweet about the rise of workplace deaths in North Carolina after three years of consistent decline. We've also noticed a rise in the number of workers' compensation calls at the office as well. I'd like to monitor this more to see whether or not the current conditions in our economy are magniftying these circumstances.
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