Utah low in on-job safety

WASHINGTON — A new report says Utahns are not as safe at work as most Americans, and prospects for improvement aren't good, as it would take safety inspectors 129 years to inspect each business in the state just once.

That is according to a report, "Death on the Job," being released today by the AFL-CIO labor union. It is based on government safety and employment statistics.

But Larry Patrick, administrator of the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division, said state data indicate a trend toward safer working conditions.

The union issues its workplace safety report every April 30, which is international Workers Memorial Day.

An advance copy given to the Deseret Morning News says that in 2002, 52 Utahns died on the job.

That means the state had a death rate of 5.0 for every 100,000 workers — well above the national average of 4.0. The rate also placed Utah in the bottom half of the states, ranking 28th out of 50.

Utah's most recent on-the-job fatality occurred on April 3, when an Alpine man fell 80 feet to his death at an Orem construction site.

Authorities said M. Scott Fisher, 39, fell to his death after his safety harness gave way while he was working to disassemble a construction crane at the Parkway Crossing housing complex.

Patrick said the Utah division does not investigate all fatalities that were reported on by the AFL-CIO, such as heart attacks in the workplace or traffic accidents. Based on its State Operations Annual Reports, UOSH reported a steady decline in workplace fatalities, Patrick said. On average, he estimated that the division investigates 16 workplace fatalities per year.

Injuries and illnesses, too, have declined, Patrick said.

"From 1994 to 1998, we had a 20 percent decrease. Then, from 1999-2001 (the most recent data available at the time UOSH compiled its report), we had a 10.8 percent decrease. So we're decreasing continually our injury, illness and fatality rates. But we're not resting on those laurels. We have a very active, almost aggressive program that works to get information out to employers, to help them."

According to the AFL-CIO report, the safest states in which to work were Massachusetts (with a fatality rate of 1.4 per 100,000 workers), Rhode Island (1.7) and Connecticut (2.4).

The deadliest states in which to work were Alaska (with a fatality rate of 14.6 per 100,000 workers), Wyoming (13.4) and Montana (13.1).