What Are the Risks to Minors Who Work in the Construction Industry?

Details

• Personal Author:
  McGovern, Patricia M. ; Moskowitz AF ; Ramirez MR ; Ryan, Andrew D. ; Schofield KE ; Zaidman BA
• Description:
  Although they make up less than 4% of the U.S. construction workforce overall, many adolescents under the age of 18 become construction workers before reaching legal adulthood. This work may be formal or informal, with its legality varying by state, and federal restrictions on certain hazardous tasks laid out in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Construction is a high-risk industry for workers of all ages, including adolescents. Between 1994-2013 in the United States, 143 minors under the age of 18 died from working in the construction industry, making it the second deadliest industry for child workers after agriculture in terms of its fatality rate. For non-fatal injuries, workers aged 16-19 had the highest injury rate of any age group in the construction industry from 2013-2015, at 139.3 injuries for every 10,000 FTEs. This rate is well above the non-fatal injury rate for most adults in construction (107.6-116.7/10,000 FTEs), and almost twice the injury rate for adults who are 65 or older (73.8/10,000 FTEs). Adolescent construction workers have roughly the same risk of suffering a fatal injury as do their coworkers through the age of 44, in addition to the increased risk of nonfatal injuries. The consequences of adolescent workplace injury may have a lifelong health and economic impact, which is particularly concerning. It has been reported that 15-26% of minors who were injured on the job reported having permanent complications such as chronic pain or loss of motion. Understanding and preventing these injuries may drastically improve the lives of future construction workers at any age. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Aging Construction Industry Morbidity Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Age Groups Construction Workers Fatalities Morbidity Rates Mortality Rates Traumatic Injuries Young Workers
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  63
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062774
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2021 Jul; 63(7):e462-e463
• Contact Point Address:
  Adam Fred Moskowitz, Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center, Environmental Health Sciences Division - School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1260 Mayo (MMC 807), 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN
• Email:
  Mosko033@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6806fec0c0ae863c7f1e6b80de484f4efa59c5f8eb5e6f11d2c3f8270ce5179fd55b1225803f222774d1152bf20ecebfccbfba2ac44870019b1efb1b46e52688
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225964/cdc_225964_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 118.43 KB ]