Download the full AFL-CIO report (PDF)

West Virginia has the third highest workplace death rate among states, according to a national report released this morning by the AFL-CIO.

The state's workplace death rate was more than double the national average, with only Alaska and Wyoming ranking worse, according to the labor organization's annual Death on the Job study.

AFL-CIO officials released the study today in anticipation of Workers Memorial Day on Monday, their yearly commemoration of workers who died or were injured on the job.

This year's memorial day comes one day after the 30th anniversary on Sunday of the Willow Island Disaster.

On April 27, 1978, 51 workers died when scaffolding collapsed during construction of a cooling tower at the Pleasants County power plant. It is still considered the worst construction accident in U.S. history.

The AFL-CIO report is based on U.S. Department of Labor statistics for the 2006 calendar year, the latest figures available.

Across the country in 2006, 4.1 million Americans were injured and 5,840 workers were killed on the job. Another 50,000 to 60,000 died because of occupational diseases.

On an average day, 153 U.S. workers lose their lives to workplace accidents and diseases.

Every day, another 11,233 workers are injured. And by some estimates, official figures may underestimate workplace injuries and illnesses by as much as 69 percent.

Download the full AFL-CIO report (PDF)

West Virginia has the third highest workplace death rate among states, according to a national report released this morning by the AFL-CIO.

The state's workplace death rate was more than double the national average, with only Alaska and Wyoming ranking worse, according to the labor organization's annual Death on the Job study.

AFL-CIO officials released the study today in anticipation of Workers Memorial Day on Monday, their yearly commemoration of workers who died or were injured on the job.

This year's memorial day comes one day after the 30th anniversary on Sunday of the Willow Island Disaster.

On April 27, 1978, 51 workers died when scaffolding collapsed during construction of a cooling tower at the Pleasants County power plant. It is still considered the worst construction accident in U.S. history.

The AFL-CIO report is based on U.S. Department of Labor statistics for the 2006 calendar year, the latest figures available.

Across the country in 2006, 4.1 million Americans were injured and 5,840 workers were killed on the job. Another 50,000 to 60,000 died because of occupational diseases.

On an average day, 153 U.S. workers lose their lives to workplace accidents and diseases.

Every day, another 11,233 workers are injured. And by some estimates, official figures may underestimate workplace injuries and illnesses by as much as 69 percent.