NPR’s “All Things Considered” recently
reported
on the increase in fatalities in the oil and gas industry. That industry’s
fatality rate is 8 times higher than the overall rate, and in 2012, the
industry had 100% more worker deaths than in 2009. The authors, Andrew
Schneider and Marilyn Geewax, discuss the issues surrounding the increase,
including the demanding work of that industry and increased hiring due to
retiring baby boomers and new hydraulic fracturing technology, which adds up to
fewer experienced workers and more inexperienced workers.
Read the article or listen to the story, and then tell us
what you think. What can government agencies do to address this problem? Is
enforcement enough? What else can
industry do to improve the survival of its workers?
