Thursday, August 05, 2010
Deepwater Horizon explosion (photo: U.S. Coast Guard)
The oil and gas industry is a real killer. Its fatality rate (30.0 per 100,000 workers) is eight times higher than the average rate for all American workers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A study by the National Wildlife Federation revealed oil and gas companies accounted for hundreds of deaths last decade. Using data from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, the environmental group reported that there were more than 200 deaths and 878 injuries, involving onshore and offshore operations, from 2001-2009.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Oil and Gas Extraction Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
Assault on America: A Decade of Petroleum Company Disaster, Pollution, and Profit (National Wildlife Federation) (pdf)
Oil Incident List (National Wildlife Federation) (pdf)
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