OSHA reports fewer workplace deaths nationally but not in the oil patch

 

OSHA says there were 43 fewer workplace fatalities nationwide in 2017 than the previous year but the number of deaths in the nation’s oilfield increased. The government says it shows that safety is improving across the nation’s work places.

But the exception is the oil patch according to one report by E and E News.

The number of workers who lost their lives in the oil field slowly ticked up again last year.

Eighty-one oil and gas workers died on the job in 2017, a 29 percent increase from 63 industry fatalities in 2016, according to data released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, BLS noted a record low death toll among oil and gas workers as the labor force dwindled (Energywire, Dec. 21, 2017).

The industry notched its highest fatality count — 144 — in 2014.

While some oil field safety initiatives by operators and federal regulators have been successful, many workers continue to perish in transportation accidents that occur away from the well site

More than half of last year’s deaths were attributable to roadway collisions.

BLS does not calculate an oil and gas industry fatality rate, which compares the number of worker deaths against the total number of workers in an industry. Across all industries, the rate of workforce fatalities last year was 2.8 per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, according to BLS.

Other federal agencies that track oil field safety have calculated the industry’s fatality rate in years past. In 2016, the rate for oil and gas was 14.9 cases per 100 FTE workers, four times higher than the all-industry rate of 3.6.

At the height of the oil and gas boom, the industry’s fatality rate was seven times higher than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017 released the report this week indicating the fatal injury rate for the rest of the nation dropped from 3.6 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent last year.

“While today’s report shows a decline in the number of workplace fatalities, the loss of even one worker is too many,” said Loren Sweatt, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “Through comprehensive enforcement and compliance assistance that includes educating job creators about their responsibilities under the law, and providing robust education opportunities to workers, OSHA is committed to ensuring the health and safety of the American workforce.”