Fatal work injuries totaled 28 in 2011 for the Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2011 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in the Baltimore area declined by 12 over the year and was the lowest count since area data were first published in 2003. Fatal occupational injuries in the area were the highest in 2006 with 59 worker deaths. The average annual number of worker fatalities in the Baltimore area from 2003 to 2011 was 38. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2011, down from the final count of 4,690 fatalities recorded in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2011 CFOI data will be released in Spring 2013.

Of the 28 fatal work injuries reported in the Baltimore area in 2011, 11 resulted from transportation incidents and 6 from violence and other injuries by persons or animals; together, these two major categories represented 61 percent of all workplace fatalities. The falls, slips, and trips category and the contact with objects and equipment category each accounted for four worker fatalities. (See table 1.) Within transportation incidents, roadway incidents was the most frequent type of workplace fatality in the Baltimore area with six deaths, making up more than half of the transportation category.

In the United States, transportation incidents was also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2011, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. The Baltimore area’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was close at 39 percent. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent event in the United States with 17 percent of work-related fatalities; the share in Baltimore was slightly higher at 21 percent. Contact with objects and equipment (15 percent) and falls, slips, and trips (14 percent) were the third- and fourth-most frequent events in the nation; in Baltimore, these two event categories each accounted for 14 percent of total fatalities.

Additional key characteristics in the Baltimore area:

• The transportation and warehousing sector had the largest number of fatalities in the area with five in 2011, the same count as the previous year. (See table 2.) During the previous year, the construction sector had the most fatal incidents in the Baltimore area with eight.
• The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector and government both had the second-highest number of work-related fatalities with four each in 2011. The workplace fatality count for administrative and support and waste management and remediation services declined by two over the year, while the government count remained the same.
• In the Baltimore area, transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in 2011 with 7, down from the 2010 count of 10. (See table 3.) The next-highest fatality counts in 2011 were in protective service occupations and construction and extraction occupations at four each.
• Men accounted for 96 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Baltimore area. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 41 percent of fatalities among this group. Nationwide, men made up 92 percent of those fatally injured at work.
• Half of those who died from a workplace injury in the Baltimore area were white non-Hispanics, lower than the 71-percent share nationwide. Non-Hispanic black or African-American workers accounted for 29 percent of the area’s fatal injuries, higher than the 9-percent share across the United States. Hispanic or Latino workers made up 14 percent of the area’s fatality total, similar to the nation (16 percent).
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 68 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2011. In the United States, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 28 fatal work injuries in the Baltimore area, 82 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for the wage and salary group  was transportation incidents, while for the self-employed, it was violence and other injuries by persons or animals.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 2009. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at http://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is composed of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.

 

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* event or exposure, Baltimore-Towson, MD, 2011(1)

Event or exposure(2)	Number	Percent
Total	28	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	6	21
Intentional injury by person	4	14
Homicides	2	7
Shooting by other person—intentional	1	4
Injury by person—unintentional or intent unknown	1	4
Injury by other person—unintentional or intent unknown	1	4
Shooting by other person—unintentional	1	4
Transportation incidents	11	39
Pedestrian vehicular incident	1	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	1	4
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	1	4
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	6	21
Roadway collision with other vehicle	2	7
Roadway collision moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway	2	7
Fire or explosion	2	7
Fire	1	4
Other structural fire without collapse	1	4
Explosion	1	4
Fall, slip, trip	4	14
Contact with objects and equipment	4	14
Struck by object or equipment	3	11
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	1	4
Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle	1	4
Struck by falling object or equipment	2	7
Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery other than vehicle part	1	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	1	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	1	4
* For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoibaltttables.htm#event
Footnotes: (1) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (2) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* industry, Baltimore-Towson, MD, 2010-2011

Industry(1)	2010	2011(2)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	40	28	100
Private industry	36	24	86
Natural resources and mining	-	3	11
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	-	3	11
Construction	8	3	11
Specialty trade contractors	6	3	11
Building equipment contractors	-	1	4
Electrical contractors	-	1	4
Nonresidential electrical contractors	-	1	4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	10	8	29
Wholesale trade	-	3	11
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	-	3	11
Grocery and related product merchant wholesalers	-	1	4
Miscellaneous nondurable goods merchant wholesalers	-	2	7
Book, periodical, and newspaper merchant wholesalers	-	1	4
Flower, nursery stock, and florists' supplies merchant wholesalers	-	1	4
Transportation and warehousing	5	5	18
Rail transportation	-	1	4
Rail transportation	-	1	4
Rail transportation	-	1	4
Line-haul railroads	-	1	4
Professional and business services	7	5	18
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	6	4	14
Government(3)	4	4	14
State government	-	2	7
Local government	-	2	7
* For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoibalttable2.htm#industry
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* occupation, Baltimore-Towson, MD, 2010-2011

Occupation(1)	2010	2011(2)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	40	28	100
Life, physical, and social science occupations	-	1	4
Physical scientists	-	1	4
Chemists and materials scientists	-	1	4
Chemists	-	1	4
Protective service occupations	3	4	14
Fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	4
Firefighters	-	1	4
Law enforcement workers	-	2	7
Police officers	-	2	7
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	-	2	7
Construction and extraction occupations	7	4	14
Transportation and material moving occupations	10	7	25
Motor vehicle operators	8	5	18
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	7	4	14
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	4	4	14
*For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoibalttables.htm#occupation
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data for 2010 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2000. Occupation data for 2011 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics*, Baltimore-Towson, MD, 2010-2011

Worker characteristics	2010	2011(1)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	40	28	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	32	23	82
Self-employed(3)	8	5	18
Gender
Men	40	27	96
Age(4)
20 to 24 years	4	1	4
25 to 34 years	5	5	18
35 to 44 years	8	7	25
45 to 54 years	13	7	25
55 to 64 years	8	6	21
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	23	14	50
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	9	8	29
Hispanic or Latino	7	4	14
*See www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoibalttables.htm#characteristic
Footnotes: (1) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries