Occupational illness levels in Connecticut are declining

The level of occupational illnesses in Connecticut is declining, but is still above the national rate, according to a new report issued by UConn Health.

The report “Occupational Disease in Connecticut, 2017” tracked data from 2013 and 2015 and concluded the volume of submitted reports from individuals filing for workers”™ compensation and health benefits to the Occupational Injury and Illness Surveillance System declined by 9 percent during this period, with a reporting rate of about 18 cases per 10,000 workers. The national rate is 17 cases per 10,000 workers.
The data included reports of 7,525 unique occupational illness cases, consisting of 3,403 musculoskeletal conditions, 2,262 infectious disease cases, 511 respiratory complaints, 310 skin ailments and 1,039 cases of other illnesses.

Rates of occupational illnesses varied across the state, with the highest level in Cromwell (70.2 cases per 10,000 workers), while Stratford (44 cases per 10,000 workers) had the highest rate for Fairfield County. Among occupations, the greatest reports of occupational illnesses occurred among workers in state government (102.2) and local government (77), followed by transportation equipment manufacturing (57.5) and retail stores (52.9).

“The greater use of primary preventive strategies such as ergonomics, the use of safer chemicals, more effective infection control, and improvements in indoor office and school environments can be applied more and more effectively to further reduce occupational illnesses and risk,” said Tim Morse, professor emeritus at UConn Health and the author of the report.