Intervention and Prevention of Weather Related Injuries at WPAFB,
OH from January 1997 through January 2000
Diane Erickson and Douglas Fuller
Falls are the leading cause of occupational injuries in
the United States. They are also the cause of 15% of all disabling
conditions. Epidemiologic investigation of falls at Wright Patterson
Air Force Base(WPAFB), Ohio revealed that 60% of falls occurred due to
icy conditions. Although weather conditions are a known predictor for
increased injury, icy conditions along with time of day proved to be
another predicting value. Evaluation of work related injuries from
January, 1997 to January, 2000 covered three main weather events.
Falls due to icy conditions in two of those events exceeded the
expected background rate by a factor of four. Injuries during these
two weather events were seen to cluster at the onset of the storm and
during the duration of the icy conditions. More importantly, there was
an association with time of arrival. Despite temperatures remaining
well below freezing for several days, more injuries occurred during
early dawn arrival times of workers compared to the injuries reported
during lunch or departure times. In 1996, a graduate student at
University of Cincinnati, Dr. Brian Knapp, used similar data from
Wright Patterson injury records and concluded falls on the ice are
related to the following conditions: 1) the presence of subfreezing
temperatures the previous night, 2) the depth of snow, 3) the amount
of precipitation the day before, 4) 5:00 am temperatures between
20-350F. He was invited to share his research at the American
Occupational Health Conference meeting that same year. Storm and
injury data since that time have further validated his conclusions. As
a result of this study, recommendations were made to the Wright
Patterson Occupational Safety and Health Council about weather
condition risk factors along with parameters for timely base closures
and delayed arrival times. Comparison of weather related injuries from
January 1997, January 1999, and January 2000 showed injury rates of
2.08, 2.24, and 0.96 (injuries/1000 population) respectively. Lost and
limited duty days paralleled these injury rates: January 1997
(35/457), January1999 (423/685), and January 2000 (2/24). Base closure
for one day following an ice storm and delayed arrival times the
second day virtually eliminated weather related injuries seen in prior
storms. This is a significant savings from Workman's Compensation with
a cost per claim arising from a fall averaging $4363, and the
reduction of lost and limited duty days saved hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Businesses and other populations could benefit from applying
specific criteria for delaying or canceling work due to severe weather
conditions.
Falls are the leading cause of occupational injuries in
the United States. They are also the cause of 15% of all disabling
conditions. Epidemiologic investigation of falls at Wright Patterson
Air Force Base(WPAFB), Ohio revealed that 60% of falls occurred due to
icy conditions. Although weather conditions are a known predictor for
increased injury, icy conditions along with time of day proved to be
another predicting value. Evaluation of work related injuries from
January, 1997 to January, 2000 covered three main weather events.
Falls due to icy conditions in two of those events exceeded the
expected background rate by a factor of four. Injuries during these
two weather events were seen to cluster at the onset of the storm and
during the duration of the icy conditions. More importantly, there was
an association with time of arrival. Despite temperatures remaining
well below freezing for several days, more injuries occurred during
early dawn arrival times of workers compared to the injuries reported
during lunch or departure times. In 1996, a graduate student at
University of Cincinnati, Dr. Brian Knapp, used similar data from
Wright Patterson injury records and concluded falls on the ice are
related to the following conditions: 1) the presence of subfreezing
temperatures the previous night, 2) the depth of snow, 3) the amount
of precipitation the day before, 4) 5:00 am temperatures between
20-350F. He was invited to share his research at the American
Occupational Health Conference meeting that same year. Storm and
injury data since that time have further validated his conclusions. As
a result of this study, recommendations were made to the Wright
Patterson Occupational Safety and Health Council about weather
condition risk factors along with parameters for timely base closures
and delayed arrival times. Comparison of weather related injuries from
January 1997, January 1999, and January 2000 showed injury rates of
2.08, 2.24, and 0.96 (injuries/1000 population) respectively. Lost and
limited duty days paralleled these injury rates: January 1997
(35/457), January1999 (423/685), and January 2000 (2/24). Base closure
for one day following an ice storm and delayed arrival times the
second day virtually eliminated weather related injuries seen in prior
storms. This is a significant savings from Workman's Compensation with
a cost per claim arising from a fall averaging $4363, and the
reduction of lost and limited duty days saved hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Businesses and other populations could benefit from applying
specific criteria for delaying or canceling work due to severe weather
conditions.