HSE PUBLISHES STATISTICS OF FATAL INJURIES FOR 2002/03

HSE press release E149:03 - 29 July 2003

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) today publishes the latest detailed statistics on fatal injuries in HSE and local authority (LA) enforced sectors in 2002/03 - Statistics of Fatal Injuries 2002/2003.

Fatal Injuries to Workers

The figures show that the number of fatally injured workers fell by 10% to 226 in 2002/03 from 251 in 2001/02. The rate of fatal injury also fell by 10% in 2002/03 to 0.79 per hundred thousand workers: the corresponding figure for 2001/02 is 0.88.

The number and rate of worker fatal injury rose by around 30% in 2000/01 and then fell by 23% in the next two years to 2002/03. The rate of fatal injury is now at the same level as three years ago, and is around a third of that recorded in 1981.

In 2002/03, 107 (47%) of worker fatalities occurred in the two industries of construction (71) and agriculture (36).

Falls from a height, being struck by a moving vehicle and being struck by moving/falling objects continue to be the three most common kinds of accident, together accounting for 53% of fatal injuries to workers in 2002/03.

Industries

In agriculture, the number of fatal injuries to workers fell to 36 in 2002/03 from 39 in 2001/02. However, the rate of fatal injury to workers increased in 2002/03 to 9.5 per hundred thousand workers from 9.2 in 2001/02, reflecting a reduction in the number of workers. The rate of fatal injury to workers is higher now than in the early 1990s.

In construction, the number of fatal injuries to workers has fallen over the past two years, from 105 in 2000/01 to 71 in 2002/03. The number is now lower than the average for the 1990s. The rate of fatal injury to workers dropped by 9% to 4.0 per hundred thousand workers in 2002/03 from 4.4 in 2001/02. The rate is now one of the lowest on record.

In manufacturing, the number of fatal injuries to workers fell to 41 in 2002/03 from 48 in 2001/02. The rate of fatal injury to workers in 2002/03 is 1.1 per hundred thousand workers, compared with 1.2 in 2001/02. The current rate is lower than in most of the 1990s, however, the rate has fluctuated over the last decade with no upward or downward trend.

In service industries in 2002/03, there were 75 fatal injuries to workers, compared with 70 in 2001/02 and 83 in 2000/01. The rate of fatal injury to workers rose from 0.31 per hundred thousand workers to 0.33 in 2002/03 but remains lower than in most of the 1990s. The two industries which displayed the greatest increase in the number of fatal injuries were transport which increased by 5 to 21 in 2002/03 and wholesale trade which increased by 5 to 9 in 2002/03. However, variation in individual industries at this level is not uncommon, and these two industries had shown a decrease in 2001/02: transport from 31 to 16 and wholesale trade from 6 to 4.

In extractive and utility supply industries in 2002/03, there were three fatal injuries to workers, compared with 14 in 2001/02. In 2002/03, the rate of fatal injury is 1.4 per hundred thousand workers, compared with 6.5 in 2001/02. However, the rate is more susceptible to fluctuation due to the small number of fatalities involved. The fatalities in 2002/03 occurred in quarrying and in the supply of electricity.

For the combined three-year period of 2000/01 to 2002/03, the industries with the highest rate of fatal injury to employees include the recycling of waste and scrap (19.9 per hundred thousand workers), the quarrying of stone/ore (9.8), the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (8.5), and sewage and refuse disposal (7.2).

Members of the Public

The number of members of the public fatally injured in 2002/03 is 392, of which 256 resulted from acts of suicide or trespass on railways. For 2001/02, the corresponding figures are 393 and 266 respectively. In 2002/03, of the non?railway fatal injuries, 80 were in the services industry, of which 45 were in health services.

Notes to editors

1 The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take three or more days off their normal work to recover; a work-related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work-related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence (which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done).

2 As well as giving data for Great Britain, the statistics released today include statistics for Wales, Scotland and the regions of England.

Press enquiries

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