Citation

Springer YP, Lucas DL, Castrodale LJ, McLaughlin JB. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2018; 61(1): 32-41.

Affiliation

Alaska Division of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology, Anchorage, Alaska.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.22784

PMID

29159876

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although loggers in Alaska are at high risk for occupational injury, no comprehensive review of such injuries has been performed since the mid-1990s. We investigated work-related injuries in the Alaska logging industry during 1991-2014.

METHODS: Using data from the Alaska Trauma Registry and the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System, we described fatal and nonfatal injuries by factors including worker sex and age, timing and geographic location of injuries, and four injury characteristics. Annual injury rates and associated 5-year simple moving averages were calculated.

RESULTS: We identified an increase in the 5-year simple moving averages of fatal injury rates beginning around 2005. While injury characteristics were largely consistent between the first 14 and most recent 10 years of the investigation, the size of logging companies declined significantly between these periods.

CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with declines in the size of Alaska logging companies might have contributed to the observed increase in fatal injury rates.

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Tongass National Forest; chainsaw; helicopter; timber; tree