April 15, 2011:NWLP
4/12/11
10:17 AM
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Oregon-OSHA Enforcement Activity for Calendar Years 2000-2010
INSPECTIONS
VIOLATIONS & PENALTIES ASSESSED
Safety Health Total
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
4,399
4,823
4,730
4,460
4,288
4,091
4,090
4,163
4,332
4,577
4,231
680
848
793
821
816
738
900
898
952
934
974
5,386
5,671
5,523
5,281
5,104
4,829
4,990
5,061
5,284
5,511
5,205
Employers % In
Compliance
Covered
166,158
199,891
199,160
210,171
228,067
268,095
370,162
239,951
208,002
190,769
135,575
24.3
24.8
23.9
23.0
24.9
22.2
26.8
24.9
23.9
24.2
28.6
No.
4,080
4,757
4,312
4,222
4,181
4,334
4,058
4,169
4,649
4,865
3,946
$ Penalty
$1,498,274
$1,540,605
$1,522,055
$1,596,322
$1,477,010
$1,386,025
$1,395,290
$1,519,665
$1,703,088
$1,782,718
$1,192,835
Willful
Repeat
Serious
Year of
Inspection
No.
244
258
203
219
213
231
263
278
227
172
135
$ Penalty
$460,450
$396,630
$303,390
$475,130
$383,555
$458,900
$759,050
$666,800
$500,675
$393,030
$382,100
No. $ Penalty
4
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
10
2
Other
No.
$130,000
$45,000
$100,000
$0
$120,000
$140,000
0
$30,000
$50,000
$700,000
$30,000
6,464
8,440
7,292
7,177
7,142
6,205
5,663
5,695
5,723
6,453
6,097
$ Penalty
$175,110
$288,845
$252,785
$251,025
$192,815
$178,165
$228,645
$234,725
$203,695
$77,370
$36,570
Citations
Issued
3,933
4,093
4,034
3,893
3,832
3,755
3,653
3,801
4,021
4,177
3,714
Each set of grouped violations was counted as one violation. All penalties associated with group violations were included. Penalties shown are initial penalties assessed and do not re-
flect reductions made after the original citation was issued. Note: data are tallied by open date of inspection. Data will change as updated. Inspection and citation counts do not include
orders to correct done prior to Oct. 1, 2002. Modified December 2004 to include followup and monitoring inspections when calculating percent in compliance and counting citations.
Source: Information Management Division, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, March 31, 2010
Work-related fatalities drop in Oregon, spike in Washington
Washington was a much more dan-
gerous place to work than Oregon last
year, according to job-related fatality
statistics released by both states.
APRIL 15, 2011
Seventeen workers were killed on
the job in Oregon in 2010, according to
the Oregon Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OR-OSHA),
compared to 86 workers in Washing-
ton, according to the Fatality Assess-
ment and Control Evaluation (FACE)
Program at the Washington State De-
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
partment of Labor and Industries.
Oregon fatalities are down 31 from
the previous year, while Washington’s
are up by 21. Factors that contributed
to the increase were an explosion that
took the lives of seven refinery workers
and a series of plane crashes that took
seven more workers’ lives.
In Oregon, it should be noted that
only fatalities accepted by the state’s
workers’compensation system were in-
cluded in OR-OSHA’s report. Excluded
were city of Portland police and fire
employees, federal employees, self-em-
ployed, and those who worked in Ore-
gon for an out-of-state employer.
When counting those, the number of fa-
talities in 2010 is 27. Another dozen
died from heart attacks while at work.
Data on all deaths caused by injuries
in Oregon workplaces — regardless of
whether they are covered by workers’
compensation insurance — are com-
puted separately and reported in the an-
nual Census of Fatal Occupational In-
juries (CFOI) administered by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The 2010 CFOI report won’t be re-
leased until this fall. Its most recent data
for 2009 reports 66 work-related deaths
in Oregon.
[The Northwest Labor Press’annual
Workers Memorial Day edition lists the
names of all workers that it knows of
who died while at work. Last year’s list
for 2009 fatalities included 58 names.]
Trucking, logging and manufactur-
ing industries saw the largest concen-
tration of deaths last year in Oregon
(11), while in Washington machine-re-
lated incidents were the number one
cause of fatalities (19).
There were no compensable con-
struction deaths in Oregon 2010 — a
significant improvement from 12 fatal-
ities as recently as 2007.
“One of the reasons for the decrease
in workplace fatalities is certainly the
impact of the economy, particularly on
those higher-risk sectors such as manu-
facturing, construction, or logging,”
OR-OSHA Administrator Michael
Wood wrote in the agency’s newsletter.
Last year in Washington, 18 work-
ers were killed in motor vehicle inci-
dents; nine were struck by falling ob-
jects; seven died by explosion; seven
died in falls; four by homicide; two by
electrocution; and one due to an injury
caused by an animal.
State ombudsman will
assist injured workers
SALEM — The Ombudsman for
Injured Workers is a state office that
serves as an independent advocate for
injured workers by helping them un-
derstand their rights and responsibili-
ties, investigating complaints, and as-
sisting to resolve complaints. The
ombudsman’s staff gives straight an-
swers, at no charge, about worker rights
and responsibilities; time loss and med-
ical benefits; returning to work; claim
closure; and litigation and settlement
processes.
If you need assistance with a ques-
tion or concern regarding your work-
ers’ compensation claim, call toll-free
at 800-927-1271, or 503-378-3351, or
go to their web site at www.oregon.gov/
DCBS/OIW.
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