WASHINGTON -- Approximately 3,000 worksites that reported high injury and illness rates for the year 2000 are scheduled for comprehensive safety and health inspections over the next year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced April 15.

"High injury and illness rates have a significant personal impact on workers, and are an added financial burden to employers," said OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. "By focusing on worksites with the highest rates, we can target our inspection and enforcement resources where they are most needed and where they will have the most benefit."

This is the fourth year OSHA has used a site-specific targeting inspection program which consists of employer-reported injury and illness data received through OSHA's annual Data Initiative. This year's program was based on a 2001 survey of approximately 80,000 worksites (data was from calendar year 2000). The targeting program does not include construction worksites.

Employers who reported 14 or more injuries or illnesses that resulted in lost work days or restricted activity for every 100 full-time workers can anticipate an inspection sometime over the next year. Employers who reported at least eight, but less than 14, injuries or illnesses, are placed on a secondary list for possible inspection only. The average lost workday injury and illness rate for private industry in the nation is three instances for the same number of workers.

This year's targeting program will not include the approximate 2,500 nursing or personal care facilities that reported injury and illness rates of eight or higher. Instead, OSHA will inspect approximately 1,000 of those facilities under a new National Emphasis Program focusing on specific hazards that account for the majority of nursing home staff injuries and illnesses. Those hazards include ergonomics (primarily back injuries from patient handling), bloodborne pathogens/tuberculosis, and slips, trips and falls.

Finally, OSHA will randomly select 200 workplaces that reported low injury and illness rates (from zero to eight) and add them to the primary inspection list. These establishments are all in the 25 highest rate industries that average a lost workday injury and illness rate of eight or greater. Henshaw explained that by adding low injury and illness rate establishments to the program, constructive information can be obtained on the actual degree of compliance with OSHA requirements.

This news release text is on the Internet World Wide Web at http://www.osha.gov.