31 Oregonians Die on the Job in 2014
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
The number is a slight increase from 30 deaths in 2013 and 2012.
More workers died in the state and local government industry than in the agriculture and logging industry. Five government workers died on the job, compared to four from the agriculture sector.
Still, 31 is nearly double the states’ all-time low, of 17 deaths, in 2010.
Even so, the number of deaths on the job in Oregon dropped dramatically from previous decades — in the 1990s, an average of 55 people died on the job, while in the 1980s, that number was 81.
"Although Oregon workplaces are safer today than in previous decades, there are still far too many preventable tragedies each year," said Patrick Allen, director of DCBS. "We must continue our commitment to eliminating hazards in the workplace so that all Oregon workers can come home safely at the end of the day."
But the progress made this year is not good enough for Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) representatives.
“We will not push them still lower unless we can persuade each other - and ourselves - that they can and must continue to go lower,” said Michael Wood, Oregon OSHA administrator.
All 31 workers who died in 2014 were covered by the state’s worker’s compensation system.
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