Notice to Readers
NIOSH Alert: Request for Assistance in Preventing
Injuries and Deaths of Loggers
CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) periodically issues alerts on workplace hazards that have
caused death, serious injury, or illness to workers. One such
alert, Request for Assistance in Preventing Injuries and Deaths of
Loggers (1), was recently published and is available to the
public. *
This alert warns workers in the logging industry that they are
at high risk for injury and death if they do not use proper safety
procedures and equipment. The National Traumatic Occupational
Fatalities Surveillance System indicates that during 1980-1989,
approximately 6400 U.S. workers died each year from traumatic
injuries in the workplace. During this time, an estimated 1492 of
these deaths occurred in the logging industry, where the average
annual fatality rate is more than 23 times that for all U.S.
workers (164 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared with seven per
100,000). Most of these logging-associated deaths occurred in four
occupational groups: logging (e.g., fellers, limbers, buckers, and
choker setters), truck drivers, general laborers, and material
machine operators. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported in 1992 that logging had a workplace injury rate of more
than 14,000 injuries per 100,000 full-time workers, compared with
8000 per 100,000 for the total private sector.
The alert describes six fatal incidents that involved workers
in the logging industry during October 1991-May 1993 and provides
recommendations for workers and employers to prevent
logging-related deaths and injuries.
Reference
NIOSH. Request for assistance in preventing injuries and deaths
of loggers. Cincinnati: US Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service, CDC, 1994; DHHS publication no.
(NIOSH)94-101.
Single copies of this document are available without charge from
the Publications Office, Division of Standards Development and
Technology Transfer, NIOSH, CDC, Mailstop C-13, 4676 Columbia
Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998; telephone (800) 356-4674 ({513}
533-8328 for persons outside the United States); fax (513)
533-8573.
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