FACTS

Common Steel Worker Injuries

Burns – Steelworkers can receive serious burns as a result of welding, sparks flying, and the flammable materials that they often work with.

Muscle Injuries – steelworkers are often required to move heavy loads or perform difficult manual labor. Repeating these tasks over time can cause workers to develop muscle injuries.

Falls – Especially at construction sites, workers must often perform their duties in high places or on cranes.

Impalement – Steelworkers may be at risk of being impaled by exposed rebar, forklift tines, or projecting equipment and materials at a worksite.

Cuts – Workers face the possibility of cuts, leading to muscle scarring, infections, and other complications.

Crush Injuries – Structural collapses and falling or swinging objects during hoisting and rigging operations can cause serious crush injuries to steelworkers at a job site.

Amputation – Steelworkers may be at risk of losing limbs or appendages if they are crushed or severed by heavy machinery at a construction site or by tools like metal shears.

STATS

• Structural iron and steel workers ranked ninth on the list with 18 total fatal occupational injuries in 2019—an improvement from last year’s report citing the group having ranked sixth on the list with 15 total fatal occupational injuries in 2018.
• According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ergonomic injuries constituted 43 % of ironworker injuries. Examples of ergonomic injuries among ironworkers include knee bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, elbow injuries and rotator cuff injuries. Other common causes of injuries include falls (19 percent), struck-by (17 percent) and caught in-between (5 percent).
• Injuries and accidents for structural iron and steel workers in Canada are as follows:
  • Fatal injury rate: 32.5 per 100,000 workers.
  • High fatal injury rate: 25.2, despite accounting for only 15 worker deaths.
  • Work-related deaths from falls among ironworkers are 10 times higher than the construction average.
  • Ironworkers are one of three trades that are likely to have the highest exposures to welding hazards.