On-the-Job Safety Grows
Cases of repeated trauma--carpal tunnel syndrome, noise--induced hearing loss, synovitis, Raynaud's phenomena, tenosynovitis, and other conditions due to repeated motion, vibration, or pressure--declined in 1996 for the second straight year, according to a December report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Industry in the United States reported 281,100 repeated-trauma cases in 1996, 9 percent lower than the 1995 figures and 15 percent lower than reported in 1994.
"This is good news for the American employer and worker," says P. J. Edington, executive director of the Center for Office Technology in Fairfax, Va. "While we don't know exactly why we are seeing this decrease in repeated-trauma cases, it certainly coincides with the proliferation of voluntary ergonomic programs by business and industry. I can only conclude that these programs are working."
Overall, illnesses and injuries occurred at a rate of 7.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to the survey by the BLS. This represents a 5 percent decrease in the number of cases-and a 3 percent increase in hours worked-compared with 1995, when the case rate was 8.1. The rate for 1996 was the lowest on record since the bureau began reporting this information in the early 1970s.