Looking for data or stats on the number of back injuries that occur as
a result of lifting compressed gas cylinders used for welding,
cutting, or brazing each year in the U.S.? |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
16 Jun 2005 13:05 PDT
boagrip-ga,
There are lots of ways to dice and slice the available data on
occupational injuries. But frankly, I don't think the data exist to
really go to the level of detail of identifying the three variables
you're asking about: (1) nature of injury (lifting) (2) object lifted,
and (3) part of body affected.
According to government records, there are about 185,000 lost-time
injuries a year (in the private sector) due to lifting injuries. This
category is actually the most frequently-occuring type of lost-time
injury in the workplace.
Presumably, a large number of these are back injuries. But whether
they stem from lifting boxes, cylinders, sacks or other items is (as
far as I know) impossible to say.
HOWEVER, very detailed breakouts of other sorts ARE available,
especially the injury rate in different industries, such as mining vs
agriculture vs manufacturing.
If you think these sorts of data might be of interest to you, please let me know.
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
boagrip-ga
on
17 Jun 2005 14:46 PDT
Not sure if the industry breakout of injuries would help.
The paragraph below regarding atv's talk about injuries requiring
emergency room treatment, I wonder how that type of information is
accessed and if specific occupational injuries get reported.
A report released today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) estimates that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) caused 113,900
injuries requiring emergency room treatment in 2002 - breaking a
record set in 2001. This increase in injuries continues a trend dating
to 1993. The CPSC also estimates that ATV-related deaths were the
highest ever, rising from 569 in 2000 to a minimum of 634 in 2001.
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
17 Jun 2005 15:13 PDT
boagrip-ga,
Great idea!...I completely forgot about the CPSC database, which I
used once or twice before!
Trouble is, it's not very specific to compressed gas cylinders. The
closest I can get you are statistics and reports on injuries like
this:
-----
CPSC Case #: 30142159 Treatment Date: 01/13/2003 PSU: 3 Weight:
61.5049 Stratum: L
Age: 55 Sex: 1 - MALE Race: 1 - WHITE Race Other:
Diagnosis: 64 - STRAIN, SPRAIN Diag Other:
Body Part: 79 - LOWER TRUNK
Disposition: 1=TREATED & RELEASED, OR EXAMINED & RELEASED WITHOUT TRTMNT
Location: 1 - HOME Fire Involvement: 0 - NO FIRE INVOLVEMENT
Products: 131 - PROPANE, LP OR BUTANE GAS TANKS OR FITTINGS
Narrative: LOW BACK PAIN STARTED THIS AM AFTER LIFTING PROPANE BOTTLE. LUMBAR STRA
-----
Problem here is the the product code is limited to: "Products: 131 -
PROPANE, LP OR BUTANE GAS TANKS OR FITTINGS"
I searched the product listing for 'compressed', 'gas' and 'tank', but
didn't see anything else that looked promising. Are there other terms
I should search for?
Let me know.
paf
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