DENVER - Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials Tuesday announced that, according to the 2005 Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the number of work-related deaths in Colorado increased from 117 in 2004 to 125 in 2005, an increase of 7 percent.

The data identifies transportation fatalities, primarily highway crashes, as the major cause of work-related deaths.

Also identified in the data were the state's three leading causes of work-related deaths in 2005. The causes were

• transportation fatalities, which include highway, rail and aircraft accidents;

• contact with objects and equipment;

• exposure to harmful substances or environments.

The Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries is a cooperative effort of the Department of Public Health and Environment's Health Statistics Section and the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which recently released its 2005 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

According to Debra Tuenge, coordinator of the Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were approximately five deaths in Colorado for every 100,000 workers in the state's workforce in 2005.

Tuenge added, "Fatal injuries in 2005 were most likely to occur on a Thursday, with a total of 24 deaths. The time of day at which the most fatal injuries occurred was between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. with a total of 15 fatalities during those hours in 2005."

Tuenge further detailed the top three causes of work-related deaths in Colorado as follows:

1. Transportation deaths continued to be the leading cause of work-related deaths, accounting for 61 percent of the state's 125 occupational fatalities during 2005. Of Colorado's 76 transportation-related occupational deaths in 2005, 35 were highway fatalities compared to 36 the previous year, and 18 resulted from aircraft accidents, up from nine fatalities in 2004. Aircraft accidents include all aircraft that are used for business travel or for transporting work-related supplies. Highway crashes accounted for 28 percent of all occupational fatalities in 2005, compared with 31 percent in 2004. A total of 10 workers were struck by vehicles while at work.

2. Contact with objects and equipment occurring at work was the second leading cause of worker deaths in 2005 and resulted in 17 deaths. Nine workers were struck by an object, five were caught in or compressed by equipment or objects and three were caught in or crushed in collapsing materials.

3. The third leading cause of occupational deaths in the state was exposure to harmful substances or environments, which resulted in 11 deaths compared to five deaths in 2004.

Work-related fatalities by worker characteristics

• Men accounted for 117 of the 125 worker deaths in 2005.

• By race/ethnicity, 98 deaths were white non-Hispanic workers, 19 were Hispanic workers, three were black workers, and four were American Indian or Alaska natives.

• Workers in the 45- to 54-year-old age group had the highest number of fatalities, with 31 deaths.

Work-related fatalities by industry

• The construction industry had the highest number of deaths at 26.

• The transportation industry had 20 deaths.

• The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry had 13 deaths.

• Work-related fatalities by occupation

• Transportation and material-moving occupations, including air, rail, water and highway transportation, as well as couriers and warehousing and storage, had the highest number of deaths, with a total of 36.

• Twenty-four deaths were in construction and extraction occupations, such as construction and engineering projects and preparation of sites for new construction.

• Sixteen fatal injuries occurred to persons working in management occupations.

For additional information about work-related injury deaths in Colorado and the nation, visit the Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Web site at www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/cfoi/.

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