The Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America

The Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains a list of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. Some of the top 25 most dangerous might surprise you:

Truck driver
Farm worker
Construction laborers
Supervisors, proprietors, and sales
Non-construction laborers
Police & detectives
Electricians
Cashiers
Airplane pilots
Guards
Taxi drivers
Lumber cutters
Carpenters
Groundskeepers & gardeners
Welders and cutters
Roofers
Fishers
Auto mechanics
Metal Workers

These dangerous jobs generally carry several hazards: falls, bad weather, or violence.

Source: chandler denise on Unsplash

01
Dangerous Jobs in America
02
Fatal Work Injuries and How to Avoid Them
03
Long Term Fatality Rate
04
Long Term Injury Rate
05
Case Study 1: Miners and Coal Dust
06
Case Study 2: Cleaners and VOCs
07
Are Workplaces Becoming More Dangerous in 2024?
08
Conclusion - Protect Yourself from Work Related Health Threats
09
Frequently Asked Questions

Dangerous Jobs in America

It's common sense that some jobs are more dangerous than others. You'd expect more risk as a police officer than as a secretary, for example. Calculating the most dangerous jobs is a little trick, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks a variety of measurements, including number of fatal work injuries and non-fatal workplace injuries, along with time spent away from work.

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What's Missing in 2024?

These lists, like the census of fatal occupational injuries, cover accidents or injuries. Construction workers are likely to be injured by power tools or fall from ladders, for example. Cashiers are likely to die from violence during a robbery.

But what about long-term health effects?

According to OSHA, hazardous work environments can cause respiratory damage. This includes:

Cancer
Lung disease
Lung impairment
Cardiovascular disease
Autoimmune disease
Death

Cause of death in these cases isn't always easy to link to the workplace, because these illnesses often take years to kill.

Certain threats are well recognized, including:

Low oxygen environments
Dust
Fog
Smog
Smoke
Sprays
Gasses
Vapors
Allergens
Viruses

These health vectors are present in many workplaces in the U.S, but aren't always figured into the work-related death rate.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Fatal Work Injuries and How to Avoid Them

Fatal injuries are often caused by falls, machinery, or collisions. Some of the most dangerous jobs where physical threats are the norm include:

Logging workers
Fishing and hunting workers
Pilots and flight engineers
Agricultural workers
Underground mining workers
Truck drivers

The hazards of these jobs are easy to see and transportation incidents are all too common in these industries. People who operate vehicles for a living are more likely to be involved in a crash. Those who work in isolated areas or with animals are likely to have work-related accidents.

One of the most dangerous jobs in the United States, however, is actually working in construction. Beyond the threats of falls and heavy machinery, tiny particles in the air can leave life-threatening damage.

The CDC reported that in 2023, around 4.5 million workers, including recyclable material collectors, in the United States had daily exposure to hazardous airborne substances.

What are Work-Related Respiratory Threats?

Working on a construction site or as a painter seems less risky than, say, operating a fishing boat in Alaska.

Workers in construction, mining machine operators, welders, painters, manufacturing, healthcare, professional cleaning, firefighting, farming, and even hairstyling are all among the most dangerous jobs because of their exposure to tiny hazardous particles suspended in the air.

Source: Courtney Wentz on Unsplash

These could include:

Aerosols
Asbestos
Silica dust
Synthetic mineral fiber
Wood dust
Paint solvents
Carbon monoxide
VOCs
Wood dust

Breathing in these substances is essentially the same as ingesting small amounts of poison each day. Over time, these accumulate into long-term, irreversible lung damage.

Wear PPE

According to the American Lung Association, 1 out of 6 adult-onset asthma cases are directly linked to the workplace.

Many workers experience chronic symptoms without getting an official diagnosis. According to OSHA, 25% of American construction workers report chronic cough and shortness of breath.

The single most effective thing you can do to protect your health at work is to wear personal protective equipment (PPE)

BUY NOW: MIRA Safety CM-I01 Full-Face Respirator

Consistently wearing an air-filtering respirator at work can dramatically decrease your chances of getting injured on the job from airborne causes.

How do Respirators Work?

Respirators provide a consistent, clean supply of air to the wearer. This protects you from work-related airborne threats in several ways.

Source: MIRA Safety

Chemical Protection: Respirators use a chemical cartridge to filter out harmful gasses and aerosols. This can protect workers who regularly have to deal with toxic substances at work.

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Particulate Filtration: Like a dust mask or an N95 Mask, respirators filter out microscopic particles suspended in the air. This works like a small "net" filtering out objects in the air. This includes silica, wood dust, bacteria, and metal dust.

Added Oxygen: Some respirators contain an integrated oxygen supply. This can be useful in low-oxygen environments, like underground mining machine operators.

Full-Face Protection: Workplace hazards can damage more than just your respiratory system. Full-face respirators also include eye protection to avoid chemicals, gasses, and dust from damaging your eyes.

Difference Between a Dust Mask and a Respirator

Dust masks do a good job of filtering out particulate matter suspended in the air. If the only airborne threat is particles, a dust mask might be sufficient to protect you. Carpentry, for example, mainly poses a health threat from wood dust.

Respirators provide far more advanced protection. They use a filtration system to rid the air of gasses, aerosols, viruses, bacteria, and other microscopic particles. If you're exposed to paint fumes, toxic chemicals, or viruses regularly at work, then a respirator offers far more protection than a dust mask.

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Importance of Safety Regulations In a Dangerous Profession

Many of these jobs have specific regulations governing safety regulations and PPE usage. Following these guidelines are essential to keeping yourself safe from respiratory threats.

There are three main components of workplace compliance:

Developing a Respiratory Protection Plan

All high-risk workplaces should have a plan in place to protect workers' respiratory health.

This can sometimes include health screenings for new employees, who might have underlying conditions that require additional protection on the job.

Training

Having respirators hanging on a hook in a storage room doesn't save any lives. A good workplace safety plan requires ongoing training for success to ensure that all employees know how to use and maintain the equipment.

This is especially important in a crisis scenario. One recent study indicated that 30% of healthcare workers in a surveyed hospital did not know that they had Powered Purifying Air Respirators available in the building for emergencies.

Regular Audits

Respiratory protection isn't a set-it-and-forget-it system. Dangerous workplaces need to be reevaluated periodically to stay compliant with current laws and that new hazards haven't been introduced.

Long Term Fatality Rate

Workplace health and safety generally tracks the main measures - long-term fatality rate and long-term injury rate. We'll explain both of them.

Long-term fatality rate tracks deaths that are directly related to a workplace hazard. This could include a log falling on a forestry worker or a construction worker dying of asbestosis.

Source: Ingeborg Korme on Unsplash

The fatal injury rate is tracked by several government databases, including:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE)

You can check these databases to check rates of workplace death for various industries. Logging workers and fishing workers had the highest fatal accident rate, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Long Term Injury Rate

The long term injury rate tracks injuries on the job. Like the long-term fatality rate, this rate tracks incidents that lead to significant impairment.

Some of the jobs with the highest rates of worker's compensation claims include:

Construction
Manufacturing
Transportation and logistics
Healthcare
Forestry

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that transportation and warehousing are the occupations with the highest rates of on-the-job injuries. Construction, manufacturing, and agriculture follow closely behind for hazards on the job leading to serious long-term injuries.

Case Study 1: Miners and Coal Dust

Some respiratory threats have a clear link between the job and the cause of death. Coal miners are the prime example of a risky occupation leading to fatal respiratory complications.

Researchers studied the causes of death for coal miners who died between 1979 and 2017. They found that miners had a much higher risk of dying from CWP (Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis, or "Black Lung"), COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and lung cancer compared to the general U.S. population.

Source: National Coal Miners Museum

Some of the main drivers of these diseases are breathed in. Coal dust, silica, and diesel fumes are all major pollutants in mines. Regular CT scans can help detect lung and respiratory tract damage in miners so they can get early treatment and avoid death.

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Federal regulations currently require that coal miners be provided a respirator.

Since the health guidelines exist, it's crucial that workers and managers be trained in the right way to wear and maintain respirators.

Case Study 2: Cleaners and VOCs

Most people don't think about cleaning as a particularly hazardous job. There's less chance of drastic injury and death compared to motor vehicle operators or guards.

Cleaning can expose you to a wide variety of toxic substances, including:

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Ammonia
Paint fumes
Chlorine fumes
Dust
Asbestos
Ozone

Depending on the work environment, cleaners can be exposed to these substances consistently over a long period of time. This makes it more likely that they will develop symptoms, including:

Chronic cough
Shortness of breath
Adult-onset asthma
Chronic bronchitis
Lung cancer

One European study suggested that extended rates of cleaning led to respiratory damage that was equivalent to smoking ten cigarettes a day.

Cleaners may be required to wear respirators if they're exposed to chemicals, gasses, fumes, dust, or other damaging materials. This is mandated by OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134).

However, it's common for people in the cleaning industry to be self-employed. They may not be aware of the regulations or the risks associated with breathing in these dangerous materials over long periods of time.

Source: CDC on Unsplash

Even "DIY" cleaning projects can present a hazard if the exposure to chemicals is particularly extreme. This could happen when cleaning out an old house or barn or undertaking an extensive paint stripping project or remodel.

Cleaners (domestic and professional) should consider wearing a sealed face respirator to protect their lungs and respiratory tract - the MIRA Safety CM-I01 Full-Face Respirator is an affordable option that provides a high level of air purification.

Are Workplaces Becoming More Dangerous in 2024?

On-the-job deaths have been increasing since the Covid-19 pandemic. The BLS reported a 7.5% increase between 2021 and 2022.

Some wonder if ongoing worker shortages are causing overwork and long hours. Both these scenarios lead to an increase of injury, illness, and death, as tired workers are more likely to make mistakes and have delayed response times.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Dangerous jobs aren't always easy to regulate and control. Transportation accidents still have the highest rates of fatal accidents - over 50% of work-related deaths. Employee training and protective equipment can only do so much to avoid those fatalities, as the roads are populated with bad drivers.

Jobs requiring intense physical labor or complex machinery will always have an element of risk.

Accompanying Risks

Underlying health and accompanying risks are another factor complicating worker safety. Many factors contribute to overall health and might make any individual worker more susceptible to injury.

Smoking
Pre-existing asthma
Allergies
Distractions

The rate of workplace illness dramatically increased between 2019 and 2021, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. As workers' compensation claims try to untangle the causes of long-term lung damage, questions will arise. Were conditions on job sites to blame for worker illness? Or did exposure to respiratory disease in the general population weaken them first?

These patterns are hard to prove. What we do know - many hazardous jobs have proven health risks in the air, and wearing protective gear can provide an advanced level of protection.

Conclusion - Protect Yourself from Work Related Health Threats

American workers keep the world's biggest economy running each day. Some of the threats are obvious and the protection is clear. You wear a hard hat on a construction site, for example, and loggers or roofers strap themselves into ladders for safety.

Protecting yourself from threats you can't see - like particulates or gasses in the air - can be harder. On a busy workday, it's easy to forget to put on your respirator, or to go too long between fit checks. But wearing PPE is essential to protecting your health - and possibly your life.