BACKGROUND: The New Mexico Occupational Health Surveillance Program (NMOHSP) tracks trends for occupational injury and fatalities. This report focuses on 2013 and 2014 workplace fatalities in New Mexico and identifies specific industries and work processes that require intervention. Comparisons are also made to data at the national level in 2013 and 2014.
METHODS: 2013 and 2014 data were retrieved from the NMOHSP notifiable conditions database. To ensure that fatalities were work-related, the NMOHSP identified and verified the individual worker’s occupation, nature of the event, and the equipment involved. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) confirmed data for 2013 and preliminary data for 2014 database were also consulted, which include ‘exposures’ such as falls, slips, trips, transportation incidents, etc.
RESULTS: In 2013, the overall crude occupational fatality rate in New Mexico according to CFOI was 6.7 per 100,000 FTEs (ages 16 and over), while the crude overall occupational fatality rate in the United States was 3.2 per 100,000 FTEs. Additionally, the crude fatality rate in the oil and gas industry in New Mexico in 2013 was 58.9 per 100,000 FTEs (ages 16 and over). In the United States in 2013, the crude fatality rate in the oil and gas industry was 19.1 per 100,000 FTEs (ages 16 and over). The resulting risk ratio comparing New Mexico’s oil and gas fatality rate to the United States rate was 3.1. In 2014, the crude fatality rate in the oil and gas industry in New Mexico was 31.6 per 100,000 FTEs (ages 16 and over). In the United States, the crude fatality rate in the oil and gas industry was 14.1 per 100,000 FTEs (ages 16 and over). The 2014 resulting risk ratio comparing New Mexico’s oil and gas fatality rate to the United States rate was 2.2. Out of the 12 oil and gas fatalities reported to the NMOHSP in 2013, 8 (66.7%) were due to transportation-related accidents; while in 2014, out of the 7 oil and gas fatalities, 4 (57.1%) were attributed to transportation-related accidents.
CONCLUSIONS: Analyses of 2013 and 2014 injury fatalities in New Mexico indicate that the oil and gas fatality rate is higher than the national rate and transportation-related accidents appear to be the largest contributor to the burden of occupational fatality. A proposed partnership with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association will identify potential interventions to address oil and gas fatalities.