Differences in the lethality of occupational accidents in OECD countries

International comparisons of the frequency of occupational accidents are rare because figures reported by each country are influenced by factors other than differences in the occurrence of actual accidents. In this study, we performed an international comparison of occupational accidents which distinguishes between fatal cases and all reported accidents, in order to control for the effects of other factors in accident reporting. Annual data on the numbers of fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) between 1993 and 1998 were obtained from the Labour Statistics Database, which is operated by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The average incidence of all accidents across OECD countries ranged from 17 to 4608 per 100,000 persons in the labor force, whereas the incidence of fatal accidents across OECD countries ranged from 1 to 12 per 100,000 persons in the labor force. Lethality rates per 10,000 total accident cases ranged from 9 (Germany) to 3252 (Turkey). When comparing countries using the same statistical definition of accidents, three or more absence days, the difference in lethality of reported accidents within the same industrial sector is reduced to a sixfold difference (49 for the United Kingdom versus 333 for Ireland). Furthermore, the difference in lethality decreased to about twofold (18 for Spain versus 35 for Czech Republic) in the group using definitions with a criteria of one absent day. The results suggest that reported differences in lethality can reflect artificial administrative factors rather than the harmful factors that cause actual occupational accidents. To make more valid comparison of occupational accident between countries, harmonization of accident statistics is required.     

Occupational safety and health in Spain

Occupational Health and Safety in Spain has improved considerably over the last decade, most likely due to a new concept where an overall concept of safety culture is defined. Important changes in industrial safety, hygiene, and psychosocial factors present an optimistic panorama for the future of Spain. Despite this general improvement, according to the European Convergence Program, Spanish statistics still offer far from good safety results. In fact, according to 1997 official statistics, Spain had the highest incidence rate for nonfatal occupational accidents of all European Union (EU) countries, and occupied third place for fatal accidents. This paper summarizes the organizational structure of the Spanish National System of Health & Safety at Work, its effective health and safety laws, and statistics on the Spanish work environment obtained from III Spanish National Survey on Work Conditions (1997). The researchers hope that the findings of this work will have an impact on Spanish industry that will subsequently bring about improvements in work conditions and develop assessment and intervention models in occupational health and safety, from a theoretical position integrating environmental, human, and organizational factors.     

Global trend according to estimated number of occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases at region and country level

Background

Although occupational accidents and work-related diseases have been of interest for a long time, due to lack of proper recording and notification systems the official numbers of occupational accidents and work-related diseases are missing for many countries. Presently, the demand for effectiveness and an interest in the economic aspects of accidents have increased prevention activities at company and country levels.

Methods

Occupational accident data of selected countries and of World Health Organization regional divisions together with the global burden of disease were used in estimating global occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases. The trend of global occupational accidents and work-related diseases is presented at region and country levels. The years 1998, 2001, and 2003 are compared in the case of occupational accidents and the years 2000 and 2002 in the case of work-related diseases.

Results

The total number of occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases has increased, but the fatality rates per 100,000 workers have decreased. There were almost 360,000 fatal occupational accidents in 2003 and almost 2 million fatal work-related diseases in 2002. Every day more than 960,000 workers get hurt because of accidents. Each day 5,330 people die because of work-related diseases.

Conclusions

Information on occupational accidents and work-related diseases is needed so that countries may understand better the importance of occupational health and safety at country and company level. Especially companies in developing countries are not familiar with occupational safety and health. Statistical data is essential for accident prevention; it is a starting point for the safety work.     

Job control and occupational health: the moderating role of national R&D activity

Workers (n = 17 275) from 14 European Union (EU) member states provided data on job control, job dissatisfaction, perceived risk of occupational stress, and absence. For each state, level of research and development (R&D) activity was assessed. Associations between individual levels of control and occupational health were stronger where national R&D activity was higher. The moderation occurred for individuals' levels of control in relation to job dissatisfaction, perceived risk of occupational stress, and absence. The findings with job dissatisfaction and absence were replicated in a sample of workers from 10 Eastern European former Communist countries (n = 7926). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analyzing the safety impact of longer and heavier vehicles circulating in the European market

Introduction: The European Union (EU) has developed different strategies to internalize the costs of excessive motor traffic in the road freight transport sector. One of these is a relaxation of restrictions on the size and load capacity of trucks that circulate between member States and a proposal has been made for Longer and Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) to be allowed to circulate across borders. LHVs are the so-called “megatrucks” (i.e., trucks with a length of 25 meters and a weight of 60 tonnes). Megatrucks have allowed to circulate for decades in some European countries such as Norway, Finland, and Sweden, world leaders in traffic accident prevention, although the impact that cross-border traffic would have on road safety is still unknown. Methods: This article provides an econometric analysis of the potential impact on road safety of allowing the circulation of “megatrucks” throughout the EU. Results: The findings show that countries that currently allow megatrucks to circulate present lower traffic accident and fatality levels, on average. Conclusions: The circulation of this type of vehicle is only advisable in countries where there is a certain degree of maturity and demonstrated achievements in the field of road safety. Practical applications: European countries that have allowed megatruck circulation obtaining better road safety outcomes in terms of accidents, although the accident lethality rate seems to be higher. Consequently, introducing megatruck circulation requires a prior proper preparation and examination.     

Occupational Safety and Health in Finland

In Finland, occupational safety is the responsibility of the employer, while the occupational safety and health laws are enforced by the Labour Inspection Service, an organization of the state. The Labour Inspection is divided in 11 administrative districts, and it employs 360 professionals. They are mandated to carry out site visits without prearranged appointments to inspect safe work situations, working hours, construction safety, or any aspect of accident risks. The inspectors are also mandated to verify the existence of sufficient occupational health services as prescribed by the Occupational Health Services Act for all employees. The occupational health services are typically provided by enterprise-owned medical departments, by mutually owned health care centers, by private practitioners, or by municipal health care centers. The latter are required by law to provide all services as prescribed by the legislation to anyone who comes to the facility. This situation is prevalent in the countryside, where there are very few private caregiving centers. Declaring occupational accidents and disease cases is mandatory, and the Inspection districts examine all accidents to establish causes and consequences, and to initiate prosecution in case of criminal negligence. Labour Inspection Districts are also notified of the new occupational disease cases as they are declared to insurance companies. Insurance for occupational disease, accidents, and death is an obligation of the employer, although they can choose the insurance company. The medical confidentiality between the workers and their occupational health care providers is very strict. Official statistics are maintained by the state Statistics Finland organization, and they may be used, for example, for research purposes by scientific institutes like the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Construction industry accounts for 25% of all fatal accidents (120 cases per 1 million working hours), followed by mechanical, wood, metal, machinery, and pulp and paper industry (10% each of fatal accidents) with rates ranging from 100–160 cases per 1 million working hours. There are some 5,000 occupational disease cases per year (rate 22/10,000 employed). The major disease categories include repetitive strain injuries (1,300 cases), respiratory allergies (600 cases), occupational skin diseases (1,000 cases), and 900 cases of noise-caused hearing loss. In 1998, 589 cases of asbestos-related diseases were reported.     

Age and lost working days as a result of an occupational accident: A study in a shiftwork rotation system

The present work analyzed the relationship of age and tenure with occupational accident severity of 156 male shiftworkers at an industrial plant. Based on past research, negative binomial regression analyses were performed to examine the association of age and tenure with the lost working days due to medically certified occupational accidents (LWDI). The main effects of age and tenure and the contribution of age by tenure interaction and age squared terms were examined. Regression results indicated a significant association of age by tenure interaction with LWDI. However, this relationship was non-significant when considering an age squared term in the regression equation, suggesting a non-linear association of age with LWDI. The findings are discussed in regard to the specific preventative measures of occupational accidents in shiftwork systems that could be addressed to different age groups.     

Prevention through design: The effect of European Directives on construction workplace accidents

Workplace accidents still occur with distressing frequency, particularly in construction. Industrialized countries have become increasingly aware of this situation and have adopted policies to attempt to deal with this issue. Such policies have led to the development of new laws and regulations with a view to improving workplace conditions.This paper first analyzes policies regarding accident prevention in the European Union, as initially stipulated in the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, and more specifically in Directive 92/57/EEC, on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites, concentrating on prevention through design. Whilst designers previously had some responsibilities for reducing risk under common law provisions in many countries, this directive was the first explicit legislation to enforce particular duties upon them. The adaptation of the provisions in this directive to the national legislation of EU member countries is also studied.The second section of the paper analyzes the incidence rate of workplace accidents in the construction sector in each country from the year when these regulations came into force until the present time. Based on the evolution of these accident rates, the paper postulates the extent to which European policies have contributed to accident prevention in construction. It is now more than a decade since this legislation has been in force which provides a suitable period for a reflective analysis on it is impact.     

安钢冶炼系统工伤事故统计与分析

安阳钢铁集团公司工伤事故统计分析表明，冶炼系统是发生事故较多的系统，各类工伤事故约占事故总数的38％。冶炼系统中，第二炼钢厂是安钢集团公司核心单位，工伤事故特点具有一定代表性。对该厂近10年工伤事故进行了统计分析，总结了事故规律，提出了加强和改进工作的建议和措施，对搞好钢铁冶炼的安全生产具有指导意义。     

Learning lessons from tunnel accidents – Recommendations in support of the implementation of Article 15 on Reporting of the EU Directive 2004/54/EC

Tunnels in the trans-European road network (TEN) facilitate the transport of persons and goods on European roads. Following a series of major tunnel accidents European Union Directive 2004/54/EC was adopted to support the achievement of uniform and high tunnel safety levels. With future accident prevention and mitigation in mind and in support of the effective implementation of Article 15 on Reporting of the Directive we outline a procedure for learning lessons and discuss every step in the process with specific regard for its implications on Article 15. This includes accident investigation, reporting, data collection and analysis, learning lessons and their implementation. The realization that validated information on tunnel accidents is not easily available or accessible, or suffers from a lack of detail or accuracy fed into the development of a data-collection template. By its very nature the template development also guided the formulation of key recommendations for accident investigation and reporting as the main information source. In addition, key recommendations on data analysis, learning lessons and implementation were also made to assist the actors responsible for reporting or sharing information under the EU Directive.     

Global estimates of occupational accidents

Information of occupational accidents is not standardized worldwide. Especially, developing countries do not have reliable information on their occupational accidents due to lack of proper recording and notification systems. The number of accidents is under-reported but figures are still used as a baseline for occupational safety work. In this paper global estimates of occupational accidents are presented for 175 countries. These estimates are based on figures from selected countries in eight different regions. Global estimates help to compare different countries and regions to each other to detect improvements in safety and safety work. In 1998 the average estimated number of fatal occupational accidents was 350 000 and there were 264 million non-fatal accidents. Global estimates are needed to guide national policies and decision-making.     

中欧事故报告与调查处理比较研究

事故调查是安全生产工作中的重要环节,是对生产安全事故及时处理、发现问题的重要手段,其目的在于找出导致事故发生的可能原因,进而提出防止类似事故再次发生的对策措施。从法律依据、事故分级、事故调查程序、事故调查主体、调查组组成、事故调查期限、责任追究、事故调查经费来源、信息公开等方面开展了我国与欧盟的事故报告与事故调查处理对比分析,剖析了我国目前事故报告与调查处理的工作存在的一些问题,研究和借鉴了欧盟的一些先进理念和做法,并提出改进我国事故报告与调查处理的若干对策建议。     

危险化学品公路运输事故新特点及对策研究

统计分析了2008年1月～2010年5月我国发生的485起危险化学品公路运输事故。从事故发生的原因、事故涉及的化学品、事故造成的危害、事故发生的月份分布及年份变化等几个方面,分析了近年来危险化学品公路运输事故的新特点及变化规律。经统计分析,道路交通事故是引发危险化学品运输事故的主要原因之一;侧翻是危险化学品车辆最容易发生的道路交通事故;而随着我国高速公路的迅猛发展,追尾造成的危险化学品运输事故数量呈上升趋势;危险化学品公路运输过程中易燃液体事故起数最多,爆炸品和毒性物质事故造成的人员伤亡最严重;春节前后取代夏季,成为近两年危险化学品运输事故高发期。针对这些特点,对我国危险化学品公路运输安全管理与监控提出了建议。     

Shipyard fatalities in Turkey

The objective of this paper is to investigate causes and incidence rates of 115 fatalities between 2000 and 2010 in Turkish shipyards and to propose mitigation measures. The fatality rate in Turkish shipbuilding industry is unacceptably high, being 3.5 times the average of all industry groups. Classification of fatal occupational accidents revealed five major fatality reasons for the shipbuilding industry; falling from higher elevation to a lower level, exposed to electric shock, fire and/or explosion, being struck by or struck against objects, and caught in between. The highest number of cases of fatal accidents was found among welders, blasters, painters and substructure workers. Statistically analyzed data showed that working on Mondays and Saturdays have special impact on the fatality probability. Also, the number of fatalities is highest in working temperatures above average 25 °C, which covers from June through September. Strategies recommended to minimize the fatalities at shipyards are discussed. Furthermore a risk framework of fatal occupational accidents were drawn so that when working conditions are within the high risk region, extra precautions can be taken in order to minimize the occurrence of accidents and fatalities.     

对改进我国生产安全事故统计工作的思考

做好生产安全事故统计工作,是国家制定相应的安全生产法规、政策和科学发展规划的重要依据,也是指导和加强安全生产管理、监督和监察工作的基础。本文简要回顾了我国生产安全事故统计工作发展情况;指出了当前事故统计工作中存在的问题;针对这些问题,作者就改进我国生产安全事故统计工作、进一步完善生产安全事故统计指标体系以及如何向国际劳工组织提供我国职业伤害统计数据等提出了自己的建议。     

Occupational accident rate in olive oil mills

Problem

This paper aims at examining the occupational accident rate in Spain in the olive oil mill industry. These mills produce olive oil by physical or mechanical, but not chemical procedures. Although Spain is the leading olive oil producer in the world with 1,200,000 tons/year and over 25% of the world olive farming area, the occupational accident rate in this sector has been little studied in the relevant scientific literature.

Method

Our study analyses all occupational accidents which occurred during 2004-2009, with or without sick leave, at 90 Andalusian olive oil mills covered by one of the biggest state insurance companies for accidents at work and occupational diseases (within the Spanish Social Security system).

Results and discussion

Slips or trips are the most frequent cause of occupational accidents in this sector, accounting for 14.86% of the cases. In second position, incorrectly coordinated bodily movements account for almost 13.51% of the accidents. Falls from height, 12.2% of the cases, are also statistically noteworthy. As for the seriousness of the injuries, entrapments are particularly important, since in 2.70% of the cases they result in the traumatic amputation of a part of the body. The analysis of accidents without sick leave reveals that a high number of incidents are caused by contact of the skin and eyes with hazardous substances (20% of the cases) and 10% of them involve superficial injuries.

Impact on the industry

This paper provides a clear and updated image of the accident rate in Spanish olive oil mills and can be a useful tool for the design and adequate adjustment of the management systems implemented in these plants to guarantee a satisfactory level of occupational health and safety by means of more efficient planning and monitoring of measures intended to reduce professional risks and improve working conditions.

Recommendations

Given not only the high incidence of falls on the same level and the potential seriousness of falls from different levels, but also the small, round fruit involved, with a high oil content and a hard round stone, it is extremely important to design and implement safe working procedures and specifically train both operatives and managers in charge of the tidiness, cleanliness and regular control of the premises and operations. The analysis of the accidents not requiring sick leave (mostly cases of contact with hazardous substances on the skin or eyes, or superficial injuries) clearly reveals that the use of suitable personal protective equipment and the relevant training are crucial issues.     

The effect of globalization on occupational accidents

This paper discusses the results of studies, which were carried out in the Institute of Occupational Safety Engineering at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) during 2001–2004. The objective was to estimate the number of occupational accidents that caused death or at least three days’ absence from work. The estimates were based on the figures gathered from selected ILO member states. This paper discusses also how globalization has affected occupational accidents trend in developing and developed regions.     

Occupational safety conditions of bus drivers in Metro Manila,the Philippines

The study looks into the occupational safety and working conditions among bus drivers in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Quantitative data were collected through survey interviews of 95 bus drivers using the stratified sampling technique. Results showed that bus drivers worked an average of 16?h/day and were engaged in risky driving behaviors such as over-speeding and road racing in order to reach their quota for the day. Fifty-nine percent experienced work-related accidents, with a mean of three accidents. The most common accident was hitting another vehicle followed by side swipe. The accidents were blamed on other drivers, followed by vehicle defect, inattentiveness and tiredness/micro-sleep or sudden involuntary sleep while driving. The most common health symptoms experienced by the bus drivers were fatigue, back pain, and cough and colds. This study underlines the need for an occupational health and safety program for bus drivers in the Philippines.