Occupational Fatalities Resulting from Falls in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry, United States, 2005–2014

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Personal Author:
  Mason, Krystal L. ; Retzer, Kyla D. ; Hill, Ryan D. ; Lincoln, Jennifer M.
• Description:
  Summary: What is already known about this topic? Fall events are one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry. During 2003-2013, fatality rates for all causes of death among oil and gas extraction workers decreased, except for deaths from falls, which increased. Workers in this industry spend a substantial amount of time working at heights, especially on the rig floor, which is located up to 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground, and in other elevated locations. What is added by this report? This is the first report to identify which categories of workers are at highest risk for fall fatalities in the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry. During 2005-2014, a total of 63 workers died in fall events. The majority of fatal fall events occurred among derrickmen who were handling pipe from the derrick board, assembling the drilling rig at the well site, or dismantling the drilling rig in preparation for transport. What are the implications for public health practice? Further research is needed to develop effective and appropriate strategies for preventing fall fatalities in the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry. Potential interventions include adopting rig technologies that eliminate the need to work at height, providing training on how to identify and reduce hazards of working at height, and ensuring proper use, fit, and inspection of personal protective equipment. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Accidents, Occupational Body Height Mortality Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Oil And Gas Industry Petroleum Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Falls; Height factors; Gas industry; Oil industry; Workers; Fall protection; Occupational-accidents; Traumatic-injuries; Mortality-data; Mortality-rates; Statistical-analysis; Occupations; Injury-prevention; Surveillance; Surveillance programs; Occupational hazards; Work environment; Heavy equipment; Risk assessment; Risk factors; Manual materials handling; Drill rigs; Intervention; Training
• Source:
  MMWR 2017 Apr; 66(16):417-421
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6616a2
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Pubmed ID:
  28448481
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5657637
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; Colorado ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WSD - Western States Division ; OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Marshall, Mike ; Hubler, Warren ; Jordan, Kenny
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049672
• Email:
  kgz7@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Oil and Gas Extraction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:851336b011042c6f32e7f0db055d796e38946ecfce05c48111c0df4b42c34e6f564bdbd7653be7d4adbd7840e00ac58bda79effbf22a79060fef977ba148a363
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/55777/cdc_55777_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 248.55 KB ]