ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Seventy teen-agers are likely to die this year in work-related accidents, the Labor Department said Thursday, unveiling a public education program on the eve of the summer jobs season.
``We want teen-agers to work this summer,'' Secretary Robert B. Reich told reporters as he introduced the ``Work Safe This Summer'' program, ``but we want them to work safely.''
In addition to the deaths - averaging one every five days - 200,000 youths suffer on-the-job injuries every year, 64,000 of them seriously enough to be treated in emergency rooms, Reich said.
He noted that labor laws are designed to keep teen-agers out of many dangerous jobs, but added that education and training are needed to supplement enforcement efforts.
``Along with learning the work ethic and responsibility, we believe young workers should learn that training can mean the difference between a safe job and an injury,'' he said.
Dr. Constance Battle of the American Academy of Pediatrics agreed.
``Education is the key to preventing many of these injuries'' that result in ``serious medical conditions and permanent disabilities due to amputations, burns, scalds, scalpings, fractures, eye loss and electrocutions,'' she said.
LENGTH: Short : 34 linesby CNB