While construction is undergoing significant change, it remains one of the deadliest industries. Each year job-related injuries kill more than 1,100 construction workers, more than in any other industry; the number killed by occupational exposures to asbestos, silica, and other toxics remains unknown for a mix of reasons. Researchers from the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR) will report on one change – in workforce demographics since 1979 – and on trends in work-related injury and death rates. Although published reports show a decline in nonfatal occupational injury rates in the 1990s, CPWR analyses have found that the rates, while declining, vary, depending on the trade. At the same time, while the rate of work-related deaths from injuries for all construction has remained fairly constant since 1992 (when the Bureau of Labor Statistics published a complete Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries), the death rate has declined or increased for given occupations. Using information from CPWR analyses of BLS and other data, CPWR and cooperating researchers have been developing safety-and-health training to target high-risk activities. With university researchers and union affiliates of the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), AFL-CIO, CPWR coordinates peer-led, hands-on training. Courses reach more than 7,000 workers annually. Topics include ergonomics, fall protection, confined-space work, hazardous waste remediation, and asbestos and lead abatement. CPWR is the research and development institute of the BCTD.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Construction Injuries, Occupational Disease
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Center to Protect Workers' Rights
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.