NIOSH Reports of Deepwater Horizon Response/Unified Area Command Illness and Injury Data

Background: These reports provide a basic overview of illness and injuries recorded by Unified Area Command (UAC) safety officials that occurred to workers involved in the Deepwater Horizon response. Injuries and illnesses were coded and categorized utilizing the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS). The data used to produce these reports were provided to NIOSH by UAC safety officials, who shared their health and safety incidents database with CDC/NIOSH. The database was comprised of the information recorded by UAC safety officials on an incident form that was filled out for any event leading to injury or illness which was believed to be work-related. It included incidents which occurred to BP employees, UAC contracted workers, federal/state/local responders, and volunteers. There may have been some local (parish) workers involved in response efforts who did not fall under the supervision of the Unified Area Command, and thus would not have been included in this database. The incident forms were filled out by UAC safety officials, as opposed to healthcare personnel, and did not contain strict medical diagnoses of injury or illness. This method of employer-generated data collection is standard occupational safety and health practice. It should be noted that because the data used for this report was collected by UAC, NIOSH cannot independently verify the accuracy and completeness of the database.

NIOSH produced these reports of illness and injuries to promote public health through enhanced awareness of the risks associated with response work in the Gulf. The objective of these reports was to provide actionable information to those in a position to reduce the risk of future injuries and illnesses among cleanup workers, such as UAC, OSHA, state and local health authorities and others. By pointing to patterns of injury and/or illness, these reports may have assisted interested parties in identifying targets for training, intervention, and other prevention activities. Additional information about specific occupational risks was reported by NIOSH through health hazard evaluations which were conducted independently by NIOSH personnel in the field.

Note that portions of this same database are also reported on OSHA’s website . This website provides line listing data for the OSHA reportable injuries.

NIOSH Report of Deepwater Horizon Response/Unified Area Command Illness and Injury Data (April 23 - July 27, 2010) [PDF - 212 KB] August 13, 2010

NIOSH Report of Deepwater Horizon Response/BP Illness and Injury Data [PDF - 212 KB] July 27, 2010

NIOSH Report of BP Illness and Injury Data [PDF - 168 KB] July 12, 2010

NIOSH Report of BP Illness and Injury Data [PDF - 154 KB] June 30, 2010