WSJ: Do Cell-Tower Climbers Have the Nation’s Deadliest Job?

[Omaha Steve]

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/do-cell-tower-climbers-have-the-nations-deadliest-job-381/

July 21, 2008, 4:17 pm
Do Cell-Tower Climbers Have the Nation’s Deadliest Job?

Working on cellphone towers is the deadliest job in the U.S., according to a trade publication whose report was picked up by several tech blogs. The claim gained credibility when it was repeated by the head of OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and it is being touted in publicity materials for a “Dateline” special to air tonight about the job. But a different federal agency that compiles job-safety statistics can’t verify the claim — which should come with a few caveats.

Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles all workplace deaths in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, using death certificates, reports to government agencies, news accounts and other sources. The BLS also conducts monthly surveys of 50,000 households to estimate the number of Americans working in each occupation. These stats are used to calculate fatality rates. Topping the most-recent list, from 2006, were fishermen and related fishing workers, with 147.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. Cellphone tower workers aren’t on the list because that job isn’t a separate category in the BLS reports, according to BLS economist Joyce Northwood.

The BLS and OSHA are both part of the Labor Department, but OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke Jr. wasn’t using BLS stats earlier this year when he told the National Association of Tower Erectors, “Tower climbing remains the most dangerous job in America.” According to a spokesman, Mr. Foulke was relying on stats from a wireless-industry publication, Wireless Estimator. When I asked the OSHA spokesman why Mr. Foulke trusted that data source, he told me, “I really have no further information for you.”

Wireless Estimator compiles its data by surveying companies that erect cell towers. Since it seems unlikely for these companies to exaggerate their safety failings, it’s plausible that cellphone tower climbers indeed have a very dangerous job. Mark Siegel, spokesman for AT&T’s wireless unit, didn’t dispute a report that several deaths this year came on the company’s projects, telling me, “We feel terrible for the families of the men who died. were tragic, unfortunate coincidences.” He added, “We used these occasions to reinforce our safety procedures, which are already extremely rigorous.”

But there are a few asterisks that should be attached. First of all, this is a small subindustry; certain types of fishermen may die on the job at even greater rates, but because they’re not counted that way, they don’t top the list. Also, because cell tower workers are a small group of people, the numbers are volatile. There were 10 deaths in 2004, seven in 2005 and 18 in 2006, according to Wireless Estimator. In 2006, the number of deaths per 100,000 was 183.6, according to Wireless Estimator, but the top nine jobs on the BLS list each had at least twice as many total deaths.

FULL story at link.

[flyingfysh]

1. I know a scarier job

There are people who work on high-tension lines, repairing various things WITHOUT TURNING OFF THE POWER. They are brought up to whatever needs to be fixed by helicopter, and wear special "hot suits" woven with steel threads through the cloth. They have a "hot stick" they move toward the line (cauing continuous sparks over a yard long), then clamp metal conductors to the line, and then sometimes climb onto the line itself (while the current is going through it!). All this time, the helicopter is hovering there, trying to avoid being blown into the wire by wind. When the job is done, they use a "hot stick" to safely establish contact between the helicopter and the ground. One of these repairs only takes a few minutes, but I hope the people doing it get lots of money. They earn it.

[XemaSab]

2. I wonder if it has to do with institutional safety practices

PG&E has a very serious commitment to safety. If you're working for them and you're anywhere near the lines, you've got your PPE on, even if you're just walking under the lines.

I just saw a dude outside working for the cable company climb a LONG ladder to get near the top of a phone pole, and as far as I can tell, his only PPE was a hard hat and maybe steel-toes. No fall protection.

Man, my old company, if you were climbing any higher than the height needed to change a light bulb, you had yourself some fall protection.

Hell, I had to take HAZWOPER and I'm a biologist. :shrug: