ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604290014
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Repetitious work, poor job design and violence have become the most significant safety and health problems in the American workplace, a union study says.
Since the early 1970s, rapid changes in the workplace have created significant new safety and health problems that put millions of workers at risk, according to the study released Friday by the AFL-CIO.
``Serious injuries and illnesses from ergonomic hazards - poor job design and repetitious work - are the most significant safety and health problems in the workplace today'' and ``are increasing at epidemic rates,'' it contended.
``Overexertion and repetitive motion are responsible for one-third of all serious workplace injuries,'' it found. ``One type of these incidents - repeated trauma disorders - have increased by 800 percent in the last decade.''
The study also found that as ``the epidemic of societal violence'' has grown, homicide has become the second leading cause of workplace fatalities after transportation and the leading cause of work-related deaths among female workers.
On average, three workers die each day in violent circumstances, it said. ``Most of these fatalities are the result of robberies and other criminal acts, not assaults by co-workers or family members.''
The 121-page report - ``Safe Jobs - Promises Kept, Promises Broken'' - was prepared for the 25th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The act went into effect April 28, 1971.
``In the early 1970s,'' the study said, ``falls, hazards, unguarded machinery, noise and exposure to cancer-causing substances and other toxic substances were all major concerns.''
``These hazards still pose problems and remain a concern,'' it added. ``But today, a whole new set of safety and health problems confronts American workers.''
``Three of the most significant safety and health problems that have emerged with changes in the work force and workplace are ergonomic hazards, workplace violence and injuries and illnesses among service and trade sector workers,'' it found.
The study noted that 25 years of growth in the service and trade industries have resulted in mounting safety and health problems in those sectors.
``While injury and illness rates have decreased overall and in manufacturing, construction and mining, the injury rates in the service and trade industries have increased or changed very little,'' it found.
It said the two sectors accounted for 47 percent of all workplace injuries and illnesses in 1994. Bars and restaurants, hospitals and nursing and personal care facilities experienced significant problems.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB