Wyoming Officials Says State Needs to Conduct More Workplace Inspections

Wyoming’s outgoing epidemiologist for workplace safety says the state needs to hire more workplace safety inspectors and adopt a tougher seatbelt law.

The job of the state workplace safety epidemiologist is to track and analyze workplace injury statistics. Mack Sewell plans to retire this month after two years in that position.

Wyoming had the highest rate of workplace fatalities of any state five times between 2000 and 2010. Many of those deaths were in the oil and gas industry.

Sewell tells the Casper Star-Tribune he believes the state Department of Workforce Services and Gov. Matt Mead seem serious about improving working conditions in Wyoming.

Still, Sewell recommends more effort to improve safety for workers on highways and in agricultural facilities. He also recommends increasing workplace safety inspections.