Commercial Dungeness crab fishing on the West Coast is one of the highest risk occupations in the United States, based on fatality rates. But non-fatal injuries in the fishery appear to go largely unreported, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
“The goal is to prevent illness and injury in the populations I work with and to create safe and healthy workplaces and environments. My hope is that by engaging the populations in the process of understanding the hazards and developing prevention strategies, we are successful,” CPHHS Assistant Professor Laurel Kincl says.
In comparison to bigger cities like Portland, or even Corvallis, Philomath supports a relatively small population and is set in a rural, forested location. But the frequent bustling of logging trucks and daily activity at local sawmills has some residents concerned about air quality.
Oregon State and community researchers are joining forces with commercial crabbers to develop injury prevention efforts so the latter can stay safe on the job.
Handling frozen fish caused nearly half of all injuries aboard commercial freezer-trawlers and about a quarter of the injuries on freezer-longliner vessels operating off the coast of Alaska, new research from Oregon State University shows.
During his first year in the MPH program, David worked on several youth workplace health and safety projects under the leadership of his graduate research supervisor, Assistant Professor Laurel Kincl.