2008 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)

Background

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in conjunction with state agencies developed the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program in 1992 to produce accurate, comprehensive, descriptive, timely, and accessible counts of fatal workplace injuries that occur during a given year. A fatality is counted in the state the incident occurred regardless of the state of employment to alleviate duplication of reporting in the states.

The fatality census uses diverse sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries in an effort to compile counts that are as complete as possible. Source documents such as death certificates, workers’ compensation reports, and Federal and State agency administrative records are cross-referenced to gather key information about each workplace fatality such as the particular occupation in which the fatality occurred, worker demographics, equipment or machinery involved, and circumstances of the event. Two or more independent source documents are used to verify the work relationship of each fatal work injury.

A work relationship exists if an event or exposure results in fatal injury or illness to a person on the employer’s premises and the person was there to work; off the employer’s premises and the person was there to work; or the event or exposure was related to the person’s work or status as an employee. Fatalities that occur during a person’s commute to or from work are excluded from census counts. Work is defined as legal duties, activities, or tasks that produce a product or result; and that which is done in exchange for money, goods, services, profit, or benefit. Although the scope of the fatality census is limited to work-related injuries, states may submit data on work-related fatal illnesses, such as heart attacks, that occur at work.

Information gathered by states participating in the CFOI program is used for statistical and research purposes only. The identifiers of all individuals and companies remain confidential according to BLS policy and confidentiality pledges to state source agencies. BLS and participating state agencies abide by any restrictions on followback or the release data imposed by source agencies.

Data Users

Data compiled by the CFOI program are issued annually for the previous calendar year. These data are used by safety and health professionals, policy analysts, and researchers to prevent fatal work injuries by informing workers of life threatening hazards associated with various jobs, promote safer work practices through enhanced job safety training, develop new safety equipment, assess and improve workplace safety standards, and identify new areas for safety research.

CFOI Charts

Chart A-1 shows workplace fatalities by event or exposure in Missouri in 2008 in all ownerships. "Transportation incidents" had the highest percentage of workplace fatalities with 39.9 percent. "Assaults and violent acts" had the second highest percentage of workplace fatalities in Missouri in 2008 with 23.0 percent.

Chart A-2 shows workplace fatalities by event or exposure in Missouri in 2008 in private industry. "Transportation incidents" had the highest percentage of workplace fatalities with 42.9 percent. "Assaults and violent acts" had the second highest percentage of workplace fatalities in Missouri private industry in 2008 with 18.3 percent.

Chart A-3 shows workplace fatalities by event or exposure in Missouri in 2008 in government. "Assaults and violent acts" had the highest percentage of workplace fatalities with 50.0 percent. "Other or not reported" had the second highest percentage of workplace fatalities in Missouri government in 2008 with 27.3 percent.

Chart A-4 illustrates fatal work injuries by location in Missouri in 2008 in all ownerships. "Street or highway" was the location where the highest percent of fatal work injuries occurred with 33.1 percent. "Public building" was the second highest location for fatal work injuries with 20.3 percent. These two locations combined accounted for 53.4 percent of the fatal work injuries in Missouri in 2008.

Chart A-5 illustrates fatal work injuries by location in Missouri in 2008 in private industry. "Street or highway" was the location where the highest percent of fatal work injuries occurred with 31.0 percent. "Farm" was the second highest location for fatal work injuries with 18.3 percent.

Chart A-6 illustrates fatal work injuries by location in Missouri in 2008 in government. "Street or highway" was the location where the highest percent of fatal work injuries occurred with 45.5 percent. "Public building" was the second highest location for fatal work injuries with 40.9 percent.

Chart A-7 shows occupations with the largest number of worker fatalities in Missouri in 2008 in all ownerships. "Driver/sales workers and truck drivers" was the occupation with the most worker fatalities with 21. "Agricultural managers" was the occupation with the second most worker fatalities in Missouri in 2008 with 19.

Chart A-8 shows occupations with the largest number of worker fatalities in Missouri in 2008 in private industry. "Driver/sales workers and truck drivers" was the occupation with the most worker fatalities with 21. "Agricultural managers" was the occupation with the second most worker fatalities in Missouri private industry in 2008 with 19. Chart A-9 shows occupations with the largest number of worker fatalities in Missouri in 2008 in government. "Police officers" was the occupation with the most worker fatalities with five. "Fire fighters" was the occupation with the second most worker fatalities in Missouri government in 2008 with four.

Chart A-10 shows occupations in the construction industry with the highest number of fatalities in Missouri in 2008 in private industry. "All other" was the construction industry occupation with the highest number of fatal injuries with 67 percent. "Construction laborers" was the occupation with the second highest number of fatal injuries in the construction industry with 19 percent.

Chart A-11 illustrates fatality work injuries varied between men and women in Missouri in 2008. "Men" accounted for 134 or 90.5 percent of the 148 total fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. "Transportation incidents" was the event or exposure in 54 or 40 percent of the fatal occupational injuries that involved men in Missouri in 2008. "Women" accounted for 14 or 9.5 percent of the 148 total fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. "Assaults and violent acts" was the event or exposure in 6 or 43 percent of the fatal occupational injuries that involved women in Missouri in 2008.

Chart A-12 shows the fatal work injuries in selected industries in Missouri in 2008 in all ownerships. Trade, transportation, and utilities was the major industry sector with the highest number of fatal work injuries with 38. Construction was the major industry sector with the second highest number of fatal work injuries with 23. Natural resources and mining was a close third with 22 fatal work injuries in Missouri in 2008.

Chart A-13 shows the fatal work injuries in selected industries in Missouri in 2008 in private industry. Trade, transportation, and utilities was the major industry sector with the highest number of fatal work injuries with 36. Natural resources and mining was the major industry sector that had the second highest number of fatal work injuries in private industry with 22. Construction was a close third with 21 fatal work injuries in Missouri private industry in 2008.

CFOI Tables

Table A-1 shows fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure in Missouri in 2008. There were 148 total fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. "Transportation incidents" was the event or exposure responsible for 59 of the 148 fatal occupational injuries. "Transportation incidents" include highway, nonhighway, air, water, rail fatalities, and fatalities resulting from being struck by a vehicle. "Assaults and violent acts" was the event or exposure that had the second highest number of total fatal occupational injuries with 34. "Assaults and violent acts" include violence by persons, self-inflicted injury, and attacks by animals. Private industry accounted for 126 of the 148 total fatalities. The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector (NAICS 11) had the highest number of fatalities in 2008 with 22. Within the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector, crop production (NAICS 111) had 19 of the 22 fatalities. The construction sector (NAICS 23) was the sector that had the second highest number of fatalities in 2008 with 21. Within the construction sector, specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238) had 13 of the 21 fatalities. The transportation and warehousing sector (NAICS 48-49) had the third highest number of fatal occupational injuries with 19. Truck transportation (NAICS 484) accounted for 12 of the 19 fatalities in the transportation and warehousing sector. There were 22 total fatalities in government with three in federal government, three in state government, and 16 in local government. Public administration (NAICS 92) had 14 fatalities.

Table A-2 shows fatal occupational injuries resulting from transportation incidents and homicides by industry in Missouri in 2008. There were a total of 59 fatal occupational injuries as a result of "transportation incidents". "Highway incidents" accounted for 40 of the total "transportation incidents" and "non-highway incidents" accounted for 11. Private industry accounted for 54 of the 59 total "transportation incidents". The transportation and warehousing sector (NAICS 48-49) had the highest number of total "transportation incidents" with 14. "Highway incidents" accounted for 12 of these 14 "transportation incidents". The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector (NAICS 11) had the second highest number of total "transportation incidents" with nine. "Non-highway incidents" accounted for eight of these "transportation incidents". There were 29 fatal occupational injuries as a result of "homicides". "Homicides by shooting" accounted for 25 of the 29 fatal occupational injuries. Nineteen of the total "homicides" were in private industry and 16 of those were in service-providing industries.

Table A-3 presents the number and percent of fatal occupational injuries to private sector wage and salary workers, government workers, and self-employed workers by industry in Missouri in 2008. "Private sector wage and salary workers" may include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. "Private sector wage and salary workers" accounted for 85 of the 148 fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. The construction sector (NAICS 23) had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries among the "private sector wage and salary workers" with 17 or 20.0 percent. The transportation and warehousing sector (NAICS 48-49) had the second highest number of fatal occupational injuries for "private sector wage and salary workers" with 13 or 15.3 percent. The number and percent of fatal occupational injuries for "government workers" include fatalities to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. "Government workers" accounted for 22 of the 148 fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. The public administration sector (NAICS 92) had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries among "government workers" with 16 or 72.7 percent. "Self-employed workers" include 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. "Self-employed workers" accounted for 41 of the 148 fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008. The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector (NAICS 11) had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries among "self-employed workers" at 20 or 48.8 percent. The transportation and warehousing sector (48-49) had the second highest number of occupational fatalities of "self-employed workers" at six or 14.6 percent.

Table A-4 presents fatal occupational injuries by primary and secondary source of injury for all fatalities by major private industry sector in Missouri in 2008. The primary source of injury identifies the object, substance, or exposure that directly produced or inflicted the injury. For most transportation incidents, the primary source identifies the vehicle in which the deceased was an occupant. For most falls, the primary source identifies the surface or object contacted. The secondary source of injury, if any, identifies the object, substance, or person that generated the source of injury or that contributed to the event or exposure. For vehicle collisions, the deceased’s vehicle is the primary source and the other object (truck, road divider, etc.) is the secondary source. For most homicides, the "bullet" is the primary source and the "assailant" is the secondary source. For most falls, the secondary source identifies the equipment or surface from which the worker fell. "Vehicles" was the leading primary source in the total fatalities with 69 total fatal occupational injuries. "Persons, plants, animals, and minerals" was the leading secondary source for total fatalities with 31. The total goods-producing industries had 53 total fatalities. Within goods-producing, the natural resources and mining major industry sector comprised of the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector (NAICS 11) and the mining sector (NAICS 21) had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries with 22. The construction major industry sector comprised of the construction sector (NAICS 23) had the second highest number of fatal occupational fatalities with 21. "Vehicles" was the leading primary source in the total goods-producing industries with 23 fatal occupational injuries. "Structures and surfaces" was the leading secondary source for total goods-producing industries with 11. The total service-providing industries had 73 total fatalities. Within service-providing industries, the trade, transportation, and utilities major industry sector, comprised of wholesale trade (NAICS 42), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), transportation and warehousing (NAICS 48-49), and utilities (NAICS 22), had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries with 36. "Vehicles" was the leading primary source in the total service-providing industries with 41 fatal occupational injuries. "Persons, plants, animals, and minerals" was the leading secondary source in the total service-providing industries with 19 fatalities.

Table A-5 shows fatal occupational injuries by occupation and event or exposure in Missouri in 2008. The occupation groups with the highest number of total fatalities in 2008 were "transportation and material moving occupations" with 34; "management occupations" with 25; and "construction and extraction occupations" with 24. "Transportation incidents" was the event or exposure in 22 of the 34 fatalities in the "transportation and material moving occupations". Within the "transportation and material moving occupations", "motor vehicle operators" accounted for 26 of the 34 fatalities. "Transportation incidents" was the event or exposure in 11 of the 25 fatalities in the "management occupations". Within the "management occupations", "other management occupations" accounted for 22 of the 25 fatalities. "Transportation incidents" and "falls" tied for the event or exposure with 8 each of the 24 fatalities in the "construction and extraction occupations". Within the "construction and extraction occupations", "construction trades workers" accounted for 18 of the 24 fatalities.

Table A-6 shows fatal occupational injuries resulting from transportation incidents and homicides by occupation in Missouri in 2008. The occupation group with the highest number of total fatal occupational injuries resulting from "transportation incidents" was the "transportation and material moving occupations" group with 22. The "management occupations" group had the second highest number of total fatal occupational injuries resulting from transportation incidents with 11. There were 29 fatal occupational injuries as a result of "homicides". "Homicides by shooting" accounted for 25 of the 29 fatal occupational injuries. The occupation group with the highest number of fatal injuries as a result of "homicides" was "protective service occupations" accounting for seven of the 29 fatal injuries. "Homicides by shooting" accounted for six of the seven fatal injuries in this group.

Table A-7 presents fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics and event or exposure in Missouri in 2008. "Wage and salary workers" accounted for 107 or 72.3 percent of the 148 fatalities. "Self-employed workers" accounted for 41 or 27.7 percent of the 148 fatalities in Missouri in 2008. Of the 148 fatal occupational injuries that occurred in Missouri in 2008, 134 or 90.5 percent of the workers were "men". "White, non-Hispanic" workers accounted for 132 or 89.2 percent of the 148 occupational fatalities in Missouri in 2008. "Hispanic or Latino" workers accounted for only four or 2.7 percent of the occupational fatalities. Workers between the ages of "45 to 54 years" had the highest number of fatal occupational injuries in Missouri in 2008 with 35 or 23.6 percent.

Table A-8 presents fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure and age in Missouri in 2008. The major events or exposures with the highest numbers of total fatal occupational injuries in 2008 were "transportation accidents" with 59, "assaults and violent acts" with 34, and "contact with objects and equipment" with 23. Of the 59 fatal occupational injuries where "transportation accidents" was the event or exposure, 14 occurred in workers aged "65 years and over", followed closely by workers "45-54 years" and "55-64 years" with 12 each. Of the 34 fatal occupational injuries where "assaults and violent acts" was the event or exposure, nine occurred in workers aged "45-54 years" and eight occurred in workers "35-44 years". Of the 23 fatal occupational injuries where "contact with objects and equipment" was the event or exposure, seven occurred in workers aged "25-34 years", and four each occurred in workers aged "45-54 years" and "65 years and over".

Table A-9 presents fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure for all fatalities and major private industry sector in Missouri in 2008. "Transportation accidents" was the primary event or exposure for both total goods-producing industries at 18 and total service-providing industries at 36. Within goods-producing industries, natural resources and mining was the major industry sector with the most fatal occupational injuries due to "transportation accidents" with nine fatalities. Within service-providing industries, trade, transportation, and utilities was the major industry sector with the most fatal occupational injuries due to "transportation accidents" with 19 fatalities. "Contact with objects and equipment" was the second highest event or exposure in the total goods-producing industries with 14 fatalities. The second highest event or exposure in the total service-providing industries was "assaults and violent acts" with 17 fatalities.