Fatal work injuries totaled 21 in 2011 for the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2011 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in the Virginia Beach area increased by four over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the area have ranged from a high of 36 in 2006 to a low of 17 in 2010. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2011, down from the final count of 4,690 fatalities recorded in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2011 CFOI data will be released in Spring 2013.

Of the 21 fatal work injuries reported in the Virginia Beach area in 2011, 13 resulted from transportation incidents and 5 from contact with objects and equipment. (See table 1.) Together, these two event categories made up 86 percent of the area’s fatality total in 2011. Within transportation incidents, pedestrian vehicular incidents accounted for six fatalities and roadway incidents resulted in five fatalities. In the contact with objects and equipment category, three of the five fatalities resulted from being struck by an object or equipment.

In the United States, transportation incidents was also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2011, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. Virginia Beach’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was 62 percent. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent type of event nationally, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 15 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities and 24 percent of those in the local area.

Additional key characteristics in the Virginia Beach area:

• Government had the largest number of fatalities in the Virginia Beach area with seven, up from three in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents accounted for three of these worker deaths, while two fatalities were due to contact with objects and equipment.
• The transportation and warehousing sector had the second-highest fatality count in the area with six, including four that resulted from pedestrian vehicular incidents.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in the Virginia Beach area with six. Half of these fatalities were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. (See table 3.) Workers in the protective service occupational group had the next-highest fatality count at three.
• Men accounted for 17, or 81 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the Virginia Beach area. Men made up 92 percent of the total nationwide. (See table 4.)
• In the Virginia Beach area, 62 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics; nationally this group made up 71 percent. Non-Hispanic black or African-American workers accounted for almost one-quarter of the area’s fatal injuries, higher than the 9-percent share across the United States.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 62 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2011. Nationally, this age group made up 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 21 fatally injured workers in the area, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents, accounting for 61 percent of these fatalities.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and the North Carolina Department of Labor for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 2009. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at http://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Currituck County in North Carolina; Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Surry, York Counties in Virginia; and Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg Cities in Virginia.

 

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure*, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, 2011(1)

Event or exposure(2)	Number	Percent
Total	21	100
Transportation incidents	13	62
Aircraft incidents	1	5
Other in-flight crash	1	5
Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground	1	5
Pedestrian vehicular incident	6	29
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	3	14
Pedestrian struck by vehicle propelled by another vehicle in roadway	1	5
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	2	10
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle on side of road	2	10
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	1	5
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	1	5
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	5	24
Roadway collision with other vehicle	3	14
Roadway collision moving in same direction	1	5
Roadway collision moving perpendicularly	1	5
Roadway collision moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway	1	5
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	1	5
Exposure to oxygen deficiency	1	5
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	1	5
Contact with objects and equipment	5	24
Struck by object or equipment	3	14
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	1	5
Struck by powered vehicle tipping over nontransport	1	5
Struck by rolling object or equipment other than powered vehicle	1	5
Struck by rolling object or equipment being pushed by injured worker	1	5
* See www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoivabeachtables.htm#event
Footnotes: (1) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (2) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* industry, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, 2010-2011

Industry(1)	2010	2011(2)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	21	100
Private industry	14	14	67
Construction	4	1	5
Heavy and civil engineering construction	-	1	5
Highway, street, and bridge construction	-	1	5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3	7	33
Transportation and warehousing	-	6	29
Truck transportation	-	1	5
Specialized freight trucking	-	1	5
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	-	1	5
Support activities for transportation	-	4	19
Support activities for road transportation	-	3	14
Motor vehicle towing	-	3	14
Couriers and messengers	-	1	5
Couriers and express delivery services	-	1	5
Leisure and hospitality	-	1	5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	-	1	5
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	-	1	5
Other amusement and recreation industries	-	1	5
Golf courses and country clubs	-	1	5
Public administration	-	1	5
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	1	5
Government(3)	3	7	33
Federal government	-	3	14
State government	-	1	5
Local government	-	3	14
* For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoivabeachtables.htm#industry
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* occupation, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, 2010-2011

Occupation(1)	2010	2011(2)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	21	100
Business and financial operations occupations	-	1	5
Business operations specialists	-	1	5
Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation	-	1	5
Compliance officers	-	1	5
Life, physical, and social science occupations	-	1	5
Life, physical, and social science technicians	-	1	5
Nuclear technicians	-	1	5
Police officers	-	1	5
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	-	1	5
Protective service occupations	-	3	14
Other protective service workers	-	1	5
Miscellaneous protective service workers	-	1	5
Crossing guards	-	1	5
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	-	1	5
Fishing and hunting workers	-	1	5
Fishers and related fishing workers	-	1	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	-	6	29
Motor vehicle operators	-	4	19
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	-	4	19
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	-	3	14
Light truck or delivery services drivers	-	1	5
Military occupations(3)	-	2	10
*For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoivabeachtables.htm#occupation
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data for 2010 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2000. Occupation data for 2011 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (3) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected* worker characteristics, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, 2010-2011

Worker characteristics	2010	2011(1)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	21	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	12	18	86
Self-employed(3)	5	3	14
Gender
Men	16	17	19
Women	-	4	81
Age(4)
20 to 24 years	4	3	14
25 to 34 years	-	2	10
35 to 44 years	3	7	33
45 to 54 years	-	4	19
55 to 64 years	-	5	24
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	13	13	62
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	3	5	24
* For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/ro3/cfoivabeachtables.htm#characteristic
Footnotes: (1) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries