INJURY DISTRIBUTIONS

DOE injury experience for 1994, as depicted by both frequency and severity distributions, helps to identify more specific information on worker injuries. This can be observed by analyzing data for the following categories:

• Part of body
• Nature of the injury
• Activity type
• Generic occupation
• Source of injury

Note that Appendix C provides detailed information (total cases and lost workdays both number and percent of total) for each category.

Part of Body Affected

Figure 7 displays the distribution of the DOE and contractor injuries by body part for 1994. Back injuries show the highest frequency accounting for 945 injuries, followed by finger/thumb with 536 injuries, and knee/ankle with 495 injuries.

Figure 8 displays the distribution of DOE and contractor average injury cost per case by body part for 1994. Multiple body parts shows the highest severity with an average cost of $14,743; however, the frequency for this body part is relatively low (see Figure 7). Eight other body parts show an average injury cost above $8,000: torso, knee/ankle, unspecified, muscle/tendon, back, neck/shoulder, foot, and leg. The body parts with the highest risk (high frequency and high severity) are back and knee/ankle.

Nature of Injury

Figure 9 displays the distribution of the DOE and contractor injuries by injury type for 1994. Strain shows by far the highest frequency accounting for 1,338 injuries.

Figure 10 displays the distribution of DOE and contractor average injury cost per case by injury type for 1994. Multiple injury and fracture are the injury types with the highest severity, with an average cost per case of $15,808 and $14,974, respectively. Note, however, that the frequency for both injury types is relatively low (see Figure 9). Four other injury types show an average injury cost above $8,000: strain, unspecified, other, and sprain. Strain is the injury type with the highest risk (high frequency and high severity).

Activity Type

Figure 11 displays the distribution of the DOE and contractor injuries by activity type for 1994. Production/operation and material handling activities show by far the highest frequency, accounting for 893 and 797 injuries, respectively.

Figure 12 displays the distribution of DOE and contractor average injury costs per case by employee activity (activity type) for 1994. Security activity shows the highest severity with an average cost of $10,834; however, the frequency for security activity is relatively low (see Figure 11). With the exception of office activity, all other activities show an average injury cost above $8,000. Highest risk activities (high frequency and high severity) are production/operation and material handling.

Generic Occupation

Table 4 displays a ranked frequency distribution of injuries by occupation for 1994. Two occupations handler/laborer/helper and administrative support/clerical are each associated with more than 400 injuries. The security guard occupation is associated with nearly 350 injuries, while five occupations engineering technician, miscellaneous technician, electrician, operator plant/system utility, and mechanic repairer are each associated with more than 200 injuries.

Table 5 displays a severity distribution of average injury costs by occupation for 1994. Miscellaneous agricultural employee shows the highest average cost per case of $120,400. This high cost is due primarily to a single case (110 workdays lost and 21 workdays restricted) when an animal care technician strained her arm while attempting to place a 30-pound wire mesh animal drawer onto the drawer track after it came off during a routine check of test specimens. Aircraft pilot shows the second highest average cost per case of $77,000. This high cost also is due to a single case (73 workdays lost and 5 workdays restricted) when a pilot injured his tailbone during unexpected turbulence while operating an aircraft. Nineteen additional occupations show an average cost greater than $8,000 per case (see Table 5).

As displayed in Tables 4 and 5, high risk occupations (high frequency and high severity) are handler/laborer/helper, security guard, plant/system/utility operator, and mechanic/repairer.

Source of Injury

Source of injury identifies the object or substance that contributed to the injury. Approximately 88 percent of the DOE 1994 injury reports specified a source. Table 6 displays a ranked frequency distribution of injuries by source for 1994. Two sources containers and structural parts/components are each associated with more than 450 injuries. Four additional sources miscellaneous equipment/parts, miscellaneous substances, miscellaneous parts/components, and manual tools are each associated with more than 300 injuries, while two sources miscellaneous items and furniture/furnishings are each associated with over 200 injuries.

Table 7 displays a ranked severity distribution of average injury costs by source for 1994. Radioactive materials shows the highest average cost per case of $15,500. This high cost is due to a single case (17 workdays lost and 25 workdays restricted) when radioactive liquid splashed into the eye of a technician. Nine additional sources show an average cost greater than $8,000 per case: facilities and buildings, machines, vehicles, miscellaneous equipment/parts, containers, structural parts/components, electrical equipment/parts, materials handling equipment/parts, and other.

As displayed in Tables 6 and 7, high risk sources (high frequency and high severity) are containers, structural parts/components, and miscellaneous equipment/parts.