WORKER INJURIES

Here are some statistics on worker safety and production provided by the National Safety Council, the National Safe Workplace Institute, the Institute for Southern Studies, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the United Autoworkers Union and federal government agencies. Injuries, all Industries (per 100 Full-Time Workers)

Total Cases Recorded Total Lost Workdays 1983 7.6 18.5 1986 7.9 65.8 1987 8.3 69.9

There were about 3,600 work-related deaths and 5.6 million occupational injuries and illnesses among 83 million private-sector employees, a 1986 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey said. One-third of the injuries and illnesses were in manufacturing, which accounts for more than 20% of the work force.

One of every 11 workers will be seriously injured or killed at work, according to the National Safe Workplace Institute.

A U.S. worker is injured every 16 seconds and one of every six workers will die from occupation-related diseases, the institute said.

Disabilities

Permanent work-related disabilities rose from 60,000 to 70,000 from 1986 to 1987--nearly a 17% increase, the National Safety Council said.

However, the rate of disabling work injuries per 1 million exposure hours dropped from 8.3 to 8.1 in the same period, the council noted.

Dangerous Industries

In 1987, ship building and repairing led the nation with 40.1 injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers, the government said. Among other hazardous industries were meatpacking and mobile homes construction.

U.S. vs. Others

The United States had the highest worker fatality rate compared with six other industrialized nations, the workplace institute said. Figures compiled by the International Labor Office showed the industrial accident death rate was 3.6 per 100,000 workers.

Japan was second-highest with 2.3 deaths, followed by Italy, 1.6; France, 1; West Germany, 0.8; the United Kingdom, 0.4; Sweden, 0.1. (All figures 1986 except Italy, 1984).

Repetitive Trauma

Reported repetitive trauma disorder cases, including hearing loss, rose from 26,700 in 1983 to 72,940 in 1987, the government said.

Such cases accounted for 38% of occupational illnesses in 1987, contrasted with 28% in 1984, according to a Labor Department survey. Such ailments hit 4 of every 100 poultry processing and meatpacking workers in 1987.

Meatpacking

More than a third of packinghouse workers will suffer a serious illness or injury this year, translating into more than 52,000 workers annually or 200 daily, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union said.

Between 1981 and 1983, meatpacking production jumped by 52%, the union said, while employment declined by almost 20%.

Poultry

Workers doing evisceration work handled 50 to 70 birds a minute in the ‘70s; now they’re processing up to 90 birds a minute, the Institute for Southern Studies said.

Construction, Mining and Manufacturing

In construction, total lost workdays per 100 workers in 1987 came to 135.8, contrasted with 69.9 for all private-sector industries, the government said. The comparable statistic was 144 in mining and 95.5 in manufacturing.

Autos

Total injury rates in large plants in the motor vehicle industry reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1987 were 2.5 times those reported in 1985, according to congressional testimony by the United Autoworkers Union.

Costs

The workplace institute estimates that a worker fatality costs the economy $1.4 million, including lost income and taxes. Other estimates range from $900,000 to $1.9 million.