Document B5YnyrgVn5n14wXG9m2QEeraX

TABERSHAW--INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE IN WESTERN ZONE OF GERMANY 299 Table 2 gives some data for the year 1949 which indicate the magnitude of the problem. Table 3 compares the industrial accidental death and injury rates for the United States and Germany. There is no question that industrial deaths and accidents are more frequent in Germany than in the United States. However, differences in reporting, in group ing of industry, in classification of workers, etc., make exact comparison difficult. Table 1.--Total Number Employed (Western Zone) Accident Insurance Group Number Insured (2d Half 1949) Industrial enterprises...'............................................................................. Government enterprises............................................................................... Agriculture and forestry............................................................................. Executive employment (including railroads).......................................... 7,954,577 2,210,430 8,109,796 1,978,631 Total.............................................................................. .................... 20,253,434 Table 2.--Comparison of Numbers Indemnified for Accidents and Occupational Disease Total number insured (1949)........................................................................ Number undergoing accidents (total)................ Number undergoing occupationaldisease (total).............................. Number compensated for accidents Death ................................................................................................. Total disablement, i............................ Partial disablement......................................................................... Number compensated for occupational diseaso Death ........................................!....................................................... Total disablement............................................................................. Partial disablement.................................................. 18,881,737 1,118,019 30,771 7,021 1,133 68,791 368 403 7,318 Table 3.--Comparison of Industrial Accident Rates of Germany and the United States (1949) Germany United States Accidental deaths (per 100,000)................................................ 36 Accidental injuries (per 100,000)...............................................' 5,921 26 3,250 Probably the most reliable figure for comparative purposes is the number of indus trial deaths. This shows a substantially higher rate for Germany. Industrial accidents are also more frequent and will probably increase as German industrial production increases. Owing to the predominance-of the mining, chemical and porcelain industries in the German economy, occupational disease is of greater significance than in the United States. Comparative data on this type of disease are not reliable, since there is no universal mandatory reporting of industrial disease in the United States. The backlog of cases of partial and total industrial disablement is enormous and repre sents a severe drain on the German economy at present and will undoubtedly increase in the future. No data on the total industrial accident premium could be