North Carolina Personal Injury Law Advocate - Developments in workers' compensation, social security disability and personal injury

"Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect," a new report from the AFL-CIO blames weak health and safety laws, inadequate enforcement and weak penalties for the more than 5,000 workplace deaths that occur annually and the 50,000 deaths that result annually from occupational illnesses.

The report's timing and findings are particularly relevant now in the wake of deadly mining accidents in West Virginia and industrial accidents in Washington and Connecticut that claimed dozens of workers' lives.

Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO Safety and Health director, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, "The vast majority of workplace deaths and injuries could be prevented if protective safety and health measures were followed. But the fact is that for too many employers, the safety of workers is secondary, taking a back seat to production. For some employers, there is a total and blatant disregard for workers. Worker safety requirements and other worker protections are totally ignored."

You can download a complete copy of the "Death on the Job" report here. You may also want to consider asking your lawmakers to support the passage of the Protecting America's Workers Act. The new legislation would:

• Extend the law’s coverage to workers currently excluded;
• Strengthen civil and criminal penalties for violations;
• Enhance anti-discrimination protections; and
• Strengthen the rights of workers, unions and victims.

Could going green and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels reduce workplace injuries?

Quite possibly, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin compared workplace injury risks for workers in renewable energy industries compared to traditional fossil fuel industries.

Their findings? Switching to renewable energy could prevent 1,300 worker energy deaths over the next decade and also reduce the number of workplace injuries for the industry.

Jobs, such as mining, that associated with the energy industry are extremely dangerous and account for thousands of workplace deaths, workplace injuries and occupational illnesses every year. For instance, only agriculture is more dangerous and deadly than mining.

[Researchers] examined the human health risks associated with traditional fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, relative to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass. Wind and solar energy appeared to offer less risk of workplace injury and death than traditional fossil fuel industries, as the dangerous energy extraction phase is minimized or eliminated in wind or solar energy production. Biomass, comprised of biofuels, organic waste, and wood derived fuels, currently accounts for more than half of US energy renewable consumption and does not appear to offer a significant safety benefit to US workers relative to fossil fuels.

“The energy sector remains one of the most dangerous industries for US workers. A transition to renewable energy generation utilizing sources such as wind and solar could potentially eliminate 1300 worker deaths over the coming decade,” says Dr. [Steven] Sumner.

A common rap against renewable energy is that it is more costly to produce. But this new research actually shows that when the hidden costs of energy production (worker injuries and deaths, environmental costs, etc.) are taken into account, those savings evaporate.

Risk of workplace injury and death among energy workers is a hidden cost of energy production, known as an externality of energy. Externalities of energy production include a whole host of problems from damage to the general environment to adverse effects on human health caused by pollution to injury and death among workers in the energy sector.

The researchers reviewed the occupational cost of energy production in the traditional and new energies and noted that while fossil fuel energies have historically been priced lower than renewable energies, the additional hidden costs, or externalities of energy, especially adverse effects on human health have often not been taken into account.