Reprinted from the ACJ - March, 2002
`This job is killing me! Seems like it sometimes doesn`t it? The full menu of tedium, irritations, sickly coworkers and angry customers can distract us from the fact that our jobs do expose us to a bit of actual danger. According to this article that recently crossed my desk, (OK, it hit my desk about a week ago and has been camping there since) my profession as an engineer in a manufacturing plant puts me in the third most dangerous profession categry in terms of suffering a fatal accident while on the job. Although I think you actually have to do some of the manufacturing, not just watch and criticize for the danger to be true. The article of which I spoke lists the ten most dangerous jobs. After a little research on the OSHA and Center for Disease Control (CDC) pertaining to the subject, I gathered some interesting information. Allow me to share it with you.
The tenth most dangerous job, in terms of potential for fatal injury, is Body guard. Kevin Costner didn`t make it look that bad. Number nine is Coast Guard Search and Rescue. Getting between Janet Reno and Elian Gonzales did appear hazardous. Number eight is the Bomb Squad. My father , who taught demolition school in the army, liked this quote `There are old demo guys and there are bold demo guys. There are no old, bold, demolition guys`. Dad`s still with us, but I`m not calling him a wimp. Number sevn on the most dangerous list is Armored Car Guard. Especially if you are loading it as someone throws a chain around it, in a robbery attempt. Number five is Fireman and number six is Policeman. This list uses statistics that are a couple of years old. I would guess the events of late last year would move both police and firemen higher on the list, and in our respect. Number four is the profession of Miner, not minor. Granted it`s tough growing up. But it has got to be hell working so close to ...hell. The third most dangerous job is that of Truck Driver. It snowed here last night and I drove home behind a lady from Florida; enough said. No offense Floridians, but practice makes perfect. The CDC says that motor vehicle crashes account for 24 % of all work related deaths and injury. As such it is the leading culprit in `on the job` hazards. OSHA uses `Manufacturing` as a coverall for this group which includes truck drivng, as well as, auto repair and construction. The CDC says that motor vehicle crashes account for 24% of all work related deaths and injury. As such it is the leading curprit in "on the job" hazards.
In 1990 the second leading cause of workplace death became homicide. Knowing this I would have guessed that Telemarketer might be the second most dangerous job but that distinction belongs to Loggers. Always high on the list, logging entails driving accidents, machine related injury and falls. These being three of the top five work related procedures that can result in serious injury. The number one most dangerous job in the world, drum roll please, is Alaskan Crab Fisherman. Think of that the next time you drool over a Red Lobster commercial. Farmers are lumped in this category by OSHA as farming ranks as a perennially dangerous, and difficult, way to make a living.
By now you must be wondering where auto mechanic fits into this list. In 1995 (the most recently tabulated data) 35,400 non-fatal injuries occurred in auto repair shops. That translates into 6.6 injuries per 100 full time workers. There were 61 fatal accidents during 1994. Of these 61 fatalities, twenty or so involved a single `proprietor`. In other words be careful working alone in your garage. The leading cause of death for auto mechanics in 1994 turned out to be assaults and violent acts (34%), followed by contact with objects and equipment (28%). This puts the auto mechanic somewhere between truckers and politicians in the third most dangerous category. That is about right if you think about the skills required by the shop owner/worker; half hauling, half handling. I know what you are thinking, politicians? Yes, politicians. Public administration is hazardous, due to travel, not hanging chads.
If that is not enough morbid trivia for you, hre is some more. 93 % of workplace deaths involve males. 85 % of civilian worker deaths involve whites. A worker between the ages of 25 and 34 is in the most danger. The greatest number of workplace deaths occur in California. Then Texas, Florida, and Illinois. OK, OK enough already. Let me finish with some good news. Since 1980 the injury and death rates occurring on the job has decreased 45 %. From 7.4 per 100,000 workers to 4.1. I would guess this has as much to do with everyone`s increased interest in safety training, hazardous substance knowledge, and workers caring more about their own, and their coworkers well being, as it does my starting to write these articles in the mid 80`s. But you never know. As you return to work, repeat after me...be careful, be watchful, be safe. Think ahead, look behind, and live to tell.
The above article was written by David M. Brown, Chief ngineer of Johnson Manufacturing Company, Inc. and is published by JOHNSON with the expressed approval of the National Automotive Radiator Service Association and the Automotive Cooling Journal. Other reproduction or distribution of this information is forbidden without the written consent of JOHNSON and NARSA/ACJ. All rights reserved.
JOHNSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY
114 Lost Grove Road / PO Box 96 / Princeton, Iowa 52768-0096
Phone 563-289-5123 or Fax 563-289-3825