The field of industrial safety is rooted in Western Pennsylvania, starting with Crystal Eastman, a member and secretary of the New York State Employer’s Liability Commission. She reviewed injuries and fatalities in Allegheny County occurring from July 1906 through June 1907. The county was essentially the Steel District, with 70,000 workers in the steel mills, 20,000 in the mines and 50,000 on the railroads. Eastman’s groundbreaking study featured a stunning illustration of a “death calendar,” with 526 fatalities for the year. This translated to nearly 1.5 fatal injuries per day during a seven-day workweek.
From this tragic beginning, the field of industrial safety was born. Western Pennsylvania has embraced this legacy by continuing to be on the national forefront in industrial safety in terms of education, research, manufacturing and leadership. Western Pennsylvania’s role in industrial safety innovation is a regional strength and needs to be lauded, marketed and used to advance our local economy.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council and Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative are hosting a Safety Innovation Summit Feb. 29 to celebrate this history and discuss among our safety and executive leaders how industrial safety expertise can be used to solve current and emerging issues.
Jan Wachter
Observatory Hill The writer is a former professor of safety sciences at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and former senior administrator within the Department of Energy.