ASSE says unchanged worker fatality rate should be a “call to action”
A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released last week that showed little change in occupational fatality figures from 2009 to 2010 is no cause for celebration, says the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
“A statistical plateau of worker fatalities is not an achievement but evidence that this nation’s effort to protect workers is stalled,” said ASSE President Terrie S. Norris, CSP, ARM. CPSI. Norris said the fact that worker deaths are not decreasing despite the dedicated efforts of the safety community “should be a call for action, not complacency – especially at an economically challenging time when some of the most dangerous industries are not at full employment.”