DE-More diseases, less accidents. National report on the state of health and safety 2009 just published 28.02.2011
National report on the state of health and safety at work
The national report on the state of health and safety at work has just been publicised by the German national institute for safety and health at work BAuA. At four-year intervals, a more elaborate version of the report outlines trends and emerging issues. The 2009 special edition presents
- the national German OSH strategy,
- the most recent developments at European level,
- an update on activities of the Initiative on the quality of work (INQA), which implements strategy actions,
- the national programme on the reduction of occupational diseases,
- other topics are health promotion, risk assessment and product safety, links between chemicals (REACH,CLP, biocide) and workplace legislation, and workplace issues linked to the increasing use of nanotechnologies at work.
- The report also covers economic aspects of OSH.
Some findings highlighted:
- the average rate of serious occupational accidents has reached the lowest level ever - 26 per 1.000 full-time workers, fatal accidents have also considerably diminished;
- work incapacity has resulted in 1,3 million work years lost, leading to a production loss of 43 billion Euro, and a total economic loss of 75 billion Euro;
- the total number of workdays lost has been steadily increasing, as absences increase from 98.4 absences per 100 workers in 2006, to 114.3 per 100 workers in 2009, with an average of 12 workdays lost per absence. Almost one fifth (22.8%) of the days lost are linked to musculoskeletal disorders, followed by respiratory disorders (14.8%), and accidents and injuries (12.2%); mental health is at the origin of 11.4% of workdays lost;
- 2,803 workers died of recognised occupational diseases, almost half of which (49.1%) were linked to asbestos exposure;
- early retirement due to work incapacity has increased by 8.1%, with a notable increase in mental and behavioural disorders (from 32.5% in 2006 to 37.7% in 2009), women are particularly concerned (43.9% of all incapacities among women linked to these causes);
