At-Risk Occupations in Power Line Fatalities: How Do Occupational Safety and Health Administration and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Compare?

Injury from overhead power lines (OPHLs) is common in certain occupations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) database in 1992 and organizes injured workers by industry and occupation. The data show that, each year, OHPL injuries have outnumbered all other types of electrical injury. Contact with OHPL injuries accounted for 44% of all electrical fatalities from 1992 through 2010, followed by contact with wiring, transformers, or other electrical components (27%) and contact with the electric current of machines, tools, appliances, or light fixtures (17%).