In America, the construction industry leads all workplaces in fatalities on the job, but last year the number of workers killed lowered. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reported that construction fatalities in 2000 were down from 1999 by 3.2 percent. This downward trend holds true in the plumbing industry as well.
According to the BLS, the total number of fatalities for plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters and apprentices was 37, down two from 1999's total of 39. Fatalities for the plumbing industry have stayed at a steady level over the past decade. Since 1992, no less than 33 plumbers were killed in a fiscal year, but no more than 41 plumbers have been killed in a year, either.