The Governor of West Virginia has decided to shut down its coal mines in the wake of more worker fatalities. If this mining crap hadn't been spotlighted in the national news, then this governmental oversight would never have happened. Once the people are watching you have to make it look like you care about worker safety.

The question is, in which states are you more likely to die on the job? Any guesses?
None?

Ok. You give up.



Occupational death rate (or on-the-job death rate) per 100,000 for the top 21 states. The point of this chart is to show that working conditions in many of the red states and quite a few of the "right-to-work" states could be significantly improved. The highest rate is Alaska at 14.7 deaths per 100,000, and the spread of the top five is 9-14.7. Compare to the states with the lowest rates: New York 2.9, Delaware 2.7, Connecticut 2.4, Rhode Island 1.7, and Massachusetts at 1.4 per 100,000.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries 2001-2002, available here.