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Gun cabinet installation in rural Alaskan households improved the storage of guns and ammunition. If these gains are sustained over time, it may lead to a reduction in gun-related injuries and deaths in this population.

In 2013, an occupational medicine physician from the University of California, San Francisco, contacted CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about two oil and gas extraction worker deaths in the western United States. The suspected cause of these deaths was exposure to hydrocarbon gases and vapors (HGVs) and oxygen (O2)-deficient atmospheres after opening the hatches of hydrocarbon storage tanks. The physician and experts from NIOSH and OSHA reviewed available fatality reports from January 2010 to March 2015, and identified seven additional deaths with similar characteristics (nine total deaths). Recommendations were made to industry and regulators regarding the hazards associated with opening hatches of tanks, and controls to reduce or eliminate the potential for HGV exposure were proposed. Health care professionals who treat or evaluate oil and gas workers need to be aware that workers might report symptoms of exposure to high concentrations of HGVs and possible O2 deficiency; employers and workers need to be aware of this hazard and know how to limit exposure. Medical examiners investigating the death of oil and gas workers who open tank hatches should consider the contribution of O2 deficiency and HGV exposure.

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Background: Analyzing health risk factors among current workers by industry and occupation (IO) provides information on disparities between worker groups, especially when comparing workers within manual labor occupations. Mining and oil and gas extraction (OGE) are unique industries with different work environments that could affect health risk factors. The study objective was to compare the prevalence of health risk factors of miners, OGE, other manual labor, and nonmanual labor workers. Methods: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System’s IO module was analyzed for years 2013–2017 to compare prevalences of excessive alcohol use, smoking, smokeless tobacco use, seat belt use, inadequate sleep, and obesity among four worker groups. National Health Interview Survey IO codes were used to categorize miners, OGE, other manual labor, and nonmanual labor workers. Findings: Miners and OGE workers had higher prevalence estimates than both nonmanual and manual labor workers for all health risk factors except current smoking. Both miners and OGE workers were significantly more likely than other manual labor workers to report smokeless tobacco use and not always wearing seatbelts. Compared with other manual labor workers, OGE workers were significantly more likely to report obesity, and miners were significantly more likely to report inadequate sleep. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Prevalence of most health risk factors differed among miners, OGE, other manual labor, and nonmanual labor workers. These differences could lead to disparities in health outcomes. Occupational health professionals in mining and OGE can use this information to inform and target integrated wellness and health and safety programs.

The capital and neighboring areas remain a focal point of transmission, requiring continued public health vigilance.

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