Wyoming to implement changes to improve workplace safety

Cheyenne, WY – A new report on Wyoming’s occupational safety culture suggests greater cooperation among government agencies and more promotion of compliance assistance programs are needed to combat the state’s high fatality rate.

Issued to Gov. Matt Mead (R) Dec. 19 and released to the public in January, the nine-page report also recommends that Wyoming develop a monitoring system to collect and analyze occupational data, and support industry efforts to develop and enforce safety standards and practices.

The report was prepared by the state’s occupational epidemiologist, a temporary position created specifically to develop a set of safety recommendations for Wyoming, which operates its own occupational safety and health program. In a Jan. 3 press release, Mead said he would implement the recommendations and would like to see the state occupational epidemiologist become a permanent position.

“These recommendations are a first step on the path to making every workplace safer,” Mead said.

According to the report, Wyoming had a preliminary fatality rate of 12.5 occupational deaths per 100,000 full-time workers in 2010, compared with the national rate of 3.5. Available data indicates the state will have had at least as many workplace deaths in 2011 as in 2010.