No abstract

No abstract

C on struc tion is a dangerous industry, with high rates of both fatal and nonfatal injuries. To learn m ore about the c auses of non fatal c onstruc tion worker injuries, and to identify injury c ases for further work site-based investigations or prevention programs, we established an em ergenc y departm ent-based surveillanc e program in Novem ber1990. This artic le desc ribes c irc umstanc es of injury, diagnoses, and demograph ic c harac teristic s of injured c onstruction workers for 2,791 c ases identi® ed through mid-August, 1997. Lac erations and strains and sprains were the most frequen t diagno ses; c utting and pierc ing objec ts were the leading c auses of injury am ong all c onstruc tion workers, followed by falls and overexertion. Bec ause of the variety of work performed in this indu stry, m ore detailed injury desc riptions, by trade, are most useful for thinking about injury prevention. To illustrate this, we pro® le injury patterns am on g workers from four spec i® c trades: c arpenters, elec tricians, plum bers, and ironworkers. Areas of c onc ern highlighted by the trade-spec i® c analyses inc lude eye injuries am ong plum bers; falls from ladders am ong electric ians and plumbers; slips, trips, and falls on the same level among ironworkers; elec tric al exposure am ong electric ians; and, am putations am on g c arpenters.Every day on the job, c onstruc tion workers fac e a risk of nonfatal injury higher than that seen for any other group of U.S. workers. (1) Likewise, the risk of fatal work-related injury is over 2.5 times highe r than that experienc ed by other U.S. workers in private industry, and 17 perc ent of all occ upational fatalities occ ur in the c onstruc tion industry. (2) Only two industriesÐ mining, and agric ulture, forestry and ® shingÐ have higher fatal injury rates.Construc tion work entails operation of heavy mac hinery and pow er tools, work at elevations, fabric ation and installation of sharp-edged objec ts with sharp tools, overhead tasks, c on® ned spac e work, c luttered work surfac es, and temperature extremes. Heavy m aterial-handling tasks are perform ed by virtually every c onstruc tion trade. By de® nition, the work environment is c hanging, requiring workers to be vigilant for new hazards. In addition, many c onstruc tion workers c hange employe rs and work sites frequently.Proportionate mortality studies (3¡ 5) have indic ated that c onstruc tion workers younge r than age 65 have more falls and other fatal injuries than expec ted. Prior studies have desc ribed injury c irc um stanc es and worker c harac teristic s for c ase series of fatal c onstruc tion injuries. (6¡ 11) Several suc h studies were popula tion-based and, in addition to desc ribing c ases, have also c alc ulated rates of fatal c onstruc tion injury by age, sex, ethnic ity, occ upational group, and other fac tors. (12¡ 15) These c ase series studies have identi® ed falls as the leading c ause of c onstruction fatality, with electroc utions, transportation-related deaths, and m ac hinery-related...