Workplace Safety Facts about
Injuries, Deaths & Illnesses.

How Safe are You at Work?

Workplace Safety Facts.

The International Labour Organization's (ILO) world-wide research shows that EACH YEAR...

• One worker dies
  every 15 seconds.
  
  
• 6,300 workers
  die daily.
  
  
• Asbestos kills
  100,000 people.
  
  
• Other hazardous chemicals and substances kill another 350,000.
  
  
• Over 2.3 million deaths occur due to occupational accidents or diseases.
  
  
• 160 million workers suffer work related illnesses.
  
  
• Around 337 million workers are injured in workplace accidents.
  
  
• 4% of world GDP is lost through work related death, injury or sickness.
  
  
• The annual cost to the global economy is a staggering $1.25 trillion.
  
  

The fact is... more people are killed at work than are killed on the battlefield.

More Workplace Safety Facts.

The Most Dangerous Types of Work?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' September 2012 report (based on 2011 figures) Fatality Rates (per 100,000 employed) were:

1. Transportation & Warehousing... 16% of all fatalities.
   
   
2. Construction... 15.6% of all fatalities.
   
   (The ILO found that in 2005 there were more than 60,000 deaths world-wide in construction ... that's 1 fatality every 10 minutes.)
   
   
3. Agriculture, forestry, fishing/hunting... 12% of all fatalities.
   
   
4. Government...11% of all deaths.
   
   
5. Professional & Business Services... 9% of all fatalities.
   
   
6. Manufacturing... 7%.
   
   
7. Retail Trade... 6%.
   
   
8. Leisure & Hospitality... 5%.
   
   
9. Wholesale Trade... 4%.
   
   
10. Other Services (exc. public admin.)... 4%.
    
    
11. Mining... 3.3%.
    
    
12. Educational& Health services... 3.3%.

The BLS also found... The 4 main causes of work-related death were 1. Transportation Accidents (41%), 2. Homicides/Violence by persons or animals (17%), 3. Struck-by-Object (15%), 4. Falls (14%),... 92% of fatalities were male... the fatality rate was highest for workers aged 45-64 years.... and most accidents occurred on a Wednesday.

Consider earning a masters in human resources management to stay on top of the latest workplace safety guidelines and the best ways to implement them, so that these staggering statistics have a lesser chance of applying to your company's employees.

More Workplace Safety Facts.

Most Dangerous Countries to Work In?

The more under-developed countries don't always have stringent Workplace Health and Safety Laws in place or adequate enforcement practices.

In 2005 the International Labour Organization estimated that 50% of miners over 50 years of age in Latin America suffered from Silicosis (a fatal lung disease resulting from silica dust inhalation).

Tens of millions more miners around the globe were also affected by Silicosis, as were 50% of slate pencil workers and 36% of stone-cutters in India.

In 2005 the ILO complained that "reporting systems and coverage of occupational safety and health in many developing countries are poor and deteriorating"... "only a fraction of the real toll of work-related death and disease is covered".

They pointed to India where only 222 fatal accidents were reported that year, when the ILO had estimated the true figure was closer to 40,000 deaths.

Another example was China which in 2005 reported 6,000 official mining deaths, whereas the true number was believed to be closer to 15,000 fatalities.

In 2000 the ILO stated "Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations worldwide... An estimated 1.3 billion workers are engaged in agricultural production worldwide... half of the total world labour force".

60% of these worked in developing countries, so here again it is not always possible to gain an accurate count of deaths and illnesses resulting from all sorts of associated hazards such as toxic or allergenic chemicals & pesticides... transmissible animal diseases like brucellosis, bovine T.B., hydatids, rabies... injuries from wild animals, spiders, snakes... extreme temperatures or deadly weather conditions, etc.

We hope these few Workplace Safety Facts help to increase awareness of possible dangers and risks in your workplace... whether you work in an office, a laboratory, a construction site, a paddock, wherever... Cheers, the Crazy Team.

Workplace Safety Facts... The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
(formerly National Labor Committee).

Anyhow... we've replaced it with another video below. The quality is not as good, but will serve to give some idea of a problem (Silicosis) that is estimated to affect the health of millions of people around the world, and kill many tens of thousands each year.

An old WHO report on workplace safety facts estimated Silicosis was killing 30,000 each year in India alone.