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Other factors that contributed to death include explosions, falls and exposures to harmful substances. The findings offer the first, albeit limited, window into the risks involved in oil and gas extraction, an area of study that researchers at the CDC hope to further investigate. The report is based on data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, media reports, and notifications from professional contacts. The authors noted that the data on self-employed workers was limited.
“Our goal is to have zero safety incidents, and we work toward that every day, but work in our industry is challenging and can be dangerous if proper safety protocols are not followed,” Robertson said. The data appears to confirm one of the facts of life in the Permian Basin: Driving on roads through West Texas is dangerous.
In many instances, Smith said, oil and gas companies hire contract drivers and have little say in their road safety training. And he added he would like to see more collaboration between government partners to improve the general road conditions in West Texas.