FORT COLLINS — A new federal database that was developed to more precisely capture the deadly nature of oil and gas extraction shows 2014 was tougher on oil field workers in Colorado than previously calculated.
The Fatalities in Oil and Gas Extraction, or FOG, says eight men died on Colorado’s oil patches a year ago. That is two more than what was tabulated by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The discrepancy comes from the different methodology used by the National Institute for Occupational Health in putting together its first FOG findings, which were released in September and included the period between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 30, 2014.
“We knew from the Bureau of Labor Statistics data about the basics of what’s killing workers,” said Kyla Retzer, an epidemiologist who led the effort to compile the FOG report. “We just wanted to be more in-depth in finding out what were the types of operations and equipment were involved in these deaths.”
FOG concentrates solely on oil and gas fatalities while the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects a census of deaths for all industries, Retzer said. FOG also includes categories of oil field-related activities that may be put in different categories under the older federal system.
For example, fatalities to sand haulers are put under a non-oil and gas category but are included in FOG, said Retzer, who is based in Denver.
FOG also reports heart attacks that begin at a job site, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not. That’s because some workers have been exposed to chemicals or toxic substances that mimic or induce cardiac events, she said.
FOG also counted two deaths near a Colorado oil field site in 2014 that the Bureau of Labor Statistics probably would not have classified as oil field related. Two workers were helping someone change a tire when they were hit and killed by another motorist, Retzer said.
The FOG idea started two years ago and earned the backing of the oil industry in the hopes of better understanding the dangerous nature of oil field work, she said.
“We just felt we didn’t have enough information on what’s killing these workers and what we need to do to improve their safety and health,” Retzer said.
In all, at least 142 oil and gas workers died nationally in 2014, a 27 percent jump from 2013, when 112 workers died, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There are indications oil field work is getting safer as many categories involving injuries are going down, said health and industry officials at the annual Natural Gas Symposium held late last month at Colorado State University.
And so far this year, there have been no reported fatalities in Colorado oil fields.
Many of those improvements are due to the oil industry implementing safety programs that employees take seriously, said Stephen Flaherty, director of state and local government affairs for Halliburton.
That includes the authority to stop work if an employee sees an activity they perceive as too dangerous, said Flaherty.
“We’ve seen double-digit decreases in accidents and injuries,” he said, “because of our safety practices.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or @montewhaley
