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Occupational burns have been determined to be a serious public health concern. The analysis of workplace risks and risk factors associated with burns are critical to developing effective interventions in the future. In this study, we examined accepted Rhode Island workers' compensation claims (n = 5619) from 1998 to 2002 to assess the rates and risks of occupational burns. We used employment data from the Department of Labor's Current Population Survey (CPS) to estimate claim rates and shift analyses. The overall burn rate was estimated to be 24.3 per 10,000 workers. The claim rate for workers younger than 25 years of age was almost double that for all other age groups. The average per-claim disability duration for claims requiring indemnity was 167.9 days, and average annual total cost of claims was dollar 1,010,166. The highest claim rate identified was for workers in food service occupations and an increased risk was found for chemical burns among evening and night-shift workers. Increased interventions are needed to reduce occupational burns in work settings. Particular diligence should be should address occupational burn hazards in restaurant establishments, and preventative should be measures aimed at young employees and late-shift workers.

This study examined all accepted Oregon workers' compensation claims for occupational burn injuries during the period of 1990 to 1997 (N = 3,158). The Current Population Survey was used to derive employee population baselines for establishing rate estimates. It was estimated that the average occupational burn claim rate was 2.89 per 10,000 workers (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.76, 3.02). The majority of claimants (71.7%) were males, the largest proportion (32.6%) was aged 25 years or less, and almost half (48.7%) had less than 1 year of job tenure. The most frequent burn type cited was heat/scald burns (78.9%) followed by chemical burns (19.3%). Costs averaged over 1.6 million dollars annually. The average indemnity period was 16 days. Higher relative risks were found for evening workers (2.97, 95% CI 2.96, 2.98) and night workers (2.13, 95% CI 2.12, 2.13) compared with dayshift workers. Kitchen workers had the highest burn rate of all occupations, with 62.5 claims per 10,000 workers.