Safety

US Bureau of Labor statistics show reduction in recordable injuries and illnesses

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its 2015 workplace injury and illness data, which reveals a reduction in total recordable workplace injury and illness cases in the waste and remediation sector. According to the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Washington, the data also reveal a slight decrease in injuries that resulted in job transfers or job restrictions and a year-over-year decline in lost workday cases. The report also indicates a downward trend of incidence rates across all industries, with the total recordable cases for private industry falling to 3 per 100 full-time workers in 2015, down from 3.2 in 2014.

The BLS data for the waste and remediation sector show:

• The total recordable cases of workplace injury and illness in the waste management and remedial services category was 4.5 per 100, a decrease from the 2014 rate of 5.1 per 100.
• The rate for cases with days away from work was 1.9 per 100, a decrease from 2.2 per 100 in 2014.
• The rate for cases that resulted in job transfers or restrictions was 1.2 per 100, the same rate as in 2014.

In the subcategory for solid waste collection employees:

• the total rate of recordable cases for solid waste collection employees was 6.6 per 100, down from the 2014 rate of 7.1 per 100;
• the rate of cases with days away from work was 2.9 per 100, down from the 2014 rate of 3.3 per 100; and
• the rate of cases with job transfer or restrictions was 1.7 per 100, slightly up from the 2014 rate of 1.5 per 100.

The solid waste collection segment of the industry had the highest rate of incidences in 2015, followed by the material recovery facility (MRF), landfill and waste-to-energy segments, the NWRA notes.

Data are based on the U.S. Census Bureau definition of the waste and remediation services industry (NAICS Code 562) as “solid waste collection, hazardous waste collection, other waste collection, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, solid waste landfill, solid waste combustors and incinerators.”