Pipefitters Have One of the Most Dangerous Jobs in America

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Pipefitters have one of the most dangerous jobs in America (Scott and Jon in the trench)

As I was doing some research for another post I’m working on, I came across a list of the 34 most dangerous jobs in America and noticed that pipefitters were #32 on the list. The list was compiled using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the jobs that had the highest rates of fatal injuries in 2020.

I’m not sure how these statistics were calculated because some of these rankings don’t seem right. For example grounds maintenance workers are #11 whereas police officers rank at #18. In my opinion, there is no way that more people who mow the lawns at golf courses die each year than police officers.

As a pipefitter or someone who performs literally any type of construction work, there are lots of ways someone could accidentally get fatally injured. For example, when installing fire sprinkler systems, we often work 40 or 50 feet high in the air using scissor lifts which is a really sturdy aerial work platform to work on. It’s so safe that we don’t even use a safety harness. However, if you were to fall off of a lift, there’s a high probably that you would probably die or become seriously injured. The statistic says 5.2 out of every 100,000 workers in our job category die each year, it would be interesting to find out the causes of those deaths.

But seeing someone fall off of a lift is a super rare occurrence. One that most pipefitters will probably never witness in their lifetime. However, we do perform some very dangerous work and there are an unlimited number of ways someone could get seriously injured or killed performing pipefitting work.

In any event, here are the jobs along with their 2020 fatality rates per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.

34. Hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 5.0

33. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 5.1

32. Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 5.2

31. Industrial truck and tractor operators

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 5.9

30. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 6.0

29. Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 6.2

28. Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 6.2

27. Automotive service technicians and mechanics

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 7.2

26. Carpenters

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 7.8

25. Electricians

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 8.0

24. Security guards and gambling surveillance officers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 8.3

23. Welding, soldering, and brazing workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 9.2

22. Telecommunications line installers and repairers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 11.6

21. Painters and paperhangers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 11.6

20. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 11.7

19. General maintenance and repair workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 12.3

18. Police officers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 13.4

17. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 14.4

16. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and grounds keeping workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 15.3

15. Miscellaneous agricultural workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 16.6

14. Construction equipment operators

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 17.6

13. Construction laborers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 18.1

12. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 18.6

11. Grounds maintenance workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 19.4

10. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 20.9

9. Underground mining machine operators

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 21.6

8. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 25.8

7. Structural iron and steel workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 32.5

6. Refuse and recyclable material collectors

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 33.1

5. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 34.3

4. Construction trade helpers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 43.3

3. Roofers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 47.0

2. Logging workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 91.7

1. Fishing and hunting workers

  • Fatal injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers: 132.1

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