’06 workplace deaths increase in Maine

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Government statistics show New Hampshire had the fewest work-related deaths in New England last year. But in Maine, workplace deaths rose from 15 in 2005 to 20 in 2006.

On-the-job fatalities fell to 13 in New Hampshire last year, down from 18 reported in 2005. It was 28 percent drop. Nationally the number of workplace deaths dropped by 3 percent, to 5,703.

Around New England, 161 people died on the job last year, six fewer than in 2005. It was the third year in a row that the number has fallen in New England.

Judy Elliott of the New Hampshire Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health said the drop is encouraging, but she said the group still is concerned about hazards that continue to exist.

Workplace deaths increased in Vermont and Rhode Island but dropped in Massachusetts and Connecticut.