Exposure to Harmful Substances

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

Detailed nonfatal data for 2021 are not currently available.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is transitioning from an annual to a biennial (every two years) publication schedule.  The final publication of a single year of cases involving days away from work estimates is for reference year 2020. In the fall of 2023, BLS will publish detailed data covering 2021 and 2022 for both Days Away from Work (DAFW) and for Days of Job Transfer or Restriction (DJTR) cases.

Use this interactive chart to explore trends in exposure to harmful substances or environments for fatal and nonfatal injuries. Injury demographics in 2020 show that 69.8% of nonfatal injuries occurred to females, while 10.8% of fatalities in 2021 were females. In 2020, 92% of the nonfatal cases were related to COVID-19 illness. In contrast, 67% of the fatalities in 2021 related to poisoning, toxic, noxious, or allergenic effects (including drug overdoses). Use the filters to further explore injury trends by industry, occupation, part of body injured, and nature or type of injury. To view data regarding nonfatal injuries and illnesses, adjust the year filter to 2020 or earlier (please see note above regarding 2021 nonfatal data).

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