Colorado to Launch Study on Oil and Gas Worker Safety

Colorado to Launch Study on Oil and Gas Worker Safety

Colorado safety regulators have announced plans to conduct a massive study on the safety of oil and gas workers.

As part of the study, the Denver branch of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will survey some 500 oil workers in North Dakota, Texas, and one other state which has yet to be named, asking them a series of questions related to job safety.

It should come as little-to-no surprise that oil field work ranks as one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. From 2005 to 2009, the fatality rate among oil and gas workers was roughly seven times higher than the general industry rate. Oil and gas workers are exposed to several unique hazards, including the potential for fires and explosions; toxic gas inhalation; trauma associated with heavy machinery; musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); and more.

While regulators are aware of the increased fatality rates among oil and gas workers, they continue to struggle to find the right answers. Increasing regulations may improve worker safety, but it could also hurt productivity. Regulators must balance a fine line between maintaining a productive oil and gas industry, and ensuring the safety of workers.

"We've analyzed fatality numbers, and we knew that fatality rates were high among oil field workers," said Kyla Retzer, an epidemiologist with the institute's oil and gas program. "But we haven't talked to workers directly in a systematic way about some of their safety-related behaviors and what their concerns are. It's not an organized workforce, so there is no real access to a specific group."

When regulators begin to reach out to oil and gas workers for this upcoming study, they are expected to ask them about injuries sustained on the job, including how those injuries occurred, whether or not they were reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and if there was any lasting damage associated with the injury.

To put the dangers of oil and gas work into perspective, records show that 20 fatalities occurred in Colorado oil and gas fields along between 2005 and 20013, the majority of which were in Weld County (35%). Colorado's most recent fatality in the oil and gas industry involved a 36-year-old man from Brighton, who was killed while trying to thaw a frozen water line. Regulators are hoping to avoid incidents such as this in the future by conducting this study.

Sep 22nd 2015

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