The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) turned 30 on April 8, 2001. In the 25 years before President Richard M. Nixon signed The Occupational Safety and Health Act on December 29, 1970, more than 400,000 Americans had been killed by work-related accidents and disease, and close to 50 million more had suffered disabling injuries on the job. Since OSHA’s establishment in 1971, workplace fatalities have been cut by 60%, and occupational injury and illness rates by 40%, in cooperation with OSHA’s state partners, employers, and employees. At the same time, US employment has nearly doubled from 56 million workers at 3.5 million worksites to 105 million workers at nearly 6.9 million sites.
OSHA has broadened its outreach efforts with safety seminars, training, and guidance to employers and employees upon request. Nearly 1.4 million visitors use OSHA’s Website each month for a total of 23 million hits, and as many as 300,000 people each month download OSHA’s Expert Advisor software.
