Wyoming ranks among worst, again, in workplace fatalities

Wyoming ranks among worst, again, in workplace fatalities

Wyoming’s workplace fatality rate in 2010 again was among the worst in the nation with an average 12.9 workplace fatalities per 100,000 workers, according to the most recent data available at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which was released this week.

Only West Virginia’s fatality rate was worse, with 13.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Alaska reported a fatality rate of 11.5, North Dakota 8.5, and Montana 8.2, according the agency.

This most recent analysis confirms that Wyoming’s decade-long run as one of those dangerous places to work held firm in 2010. West Virginia’s “worst” ranking can be attributed to the Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 5, 2010, when 29 miners were killed in an underground mine explosion.