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County Health Assessment Indicator Technical Notes About Occupational Health Data

Indicator/Contact for information	Data Source	Definition
Incidence of Malignant Mesothelioma Contact: New York State Cancer Registry at (518) 474-2255	New York State Cancer Registry	Incident cases of mesothelioma in persons age 15 years or older. Incidence data are based on reports from hospitals and other health facilities that diagnose and treat cancer patients. Mesothelioma is defined as an ICD-O histology code of 9050-9053. Data are presented for a five-year time period. The mesothelioma incidence rates are per million residents.
Hospitalizations From or With Pneumoconiosis, Asbestosis Contact: Bureau of Biometrics and Health Statistics at (518) 474-3189	Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System - SPARCS ^a Bureau of Biometrics and Health Statistics	The number of hospital discharges for persons age 15 years or older with a primary or contributing diagnosis of the following: Total pneumoconiosis: ICD-9-CM between ‘500 and 505’ Asbestosis: ICD-9-CM = ‘501’ The rates of hospitalizations from these diseases are rates per 100,000 residents. Data are presented for a three-year time period.
Work-related Hospitalizations Contact: Bureau of Biometrics and Health Statistics at (518) 474-3189	Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System - SPARCS ^a Bureau of Biometrics and Health Statistics	The number of hospital discharges with primary payor coded as workers’ compensation for persons age 16 years or older. Data are presented for a three-year time period. The hospitalization rates are per 100,000 employed persons age 16 years or older, based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Statistics.
Elevated blood lead levels among adults (≥10 µg/dL) Contact: Bureau of Occupational Health at (518) 402-7900	New York State Department of Health Heavy Metals Registry(HMR) ^b	The number of New York State residents, age 16 years or older, with a blood lead level of >= 10 µg/dL. Data are presented for a three-year time period. The prevalence rates are per 100,000 employed persons age 16 years or older, based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Statistics.
Elevated blood lead levels among adults (≥25 µg/dL) Contact: Bureau of Occupational Health at (518) 402-7900	New York State Department of Health Heavy Metals Registry(HMR) ^b	The number of New York State residents, age 16 years or older, with a blood lead level of >= 25 µg/dL. Data are presented for a three-year time period. The prevalence rates are per 100,000 employed persons age 16 years or older, based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Statistics.
Fatal Work-related Injuries Contact: : Bureau of Occupational Health (for NYS fatalities excluding New York City (NYC)), at (518) 402-7900 NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (for NYC fatalities), at (212) 788-4585	NYS Census for Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and NYC CFOI ^c	The number of fatal work-related injuries reported to CFOI. Data are presented for a three-year time period. The fatality rates are per 100,000 employed persons age 16 years or older based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Statistics. Certain criteria must be met in order for a death to be included in CFOI. The fatality must be verified by at least of two independent sources. The decedent must have been employed at the time of the event, and engaged in a work activity or have been present at the site of the incident as a requirement of the job. This broad definition is intended to capture all work-related fatalities that occur while a person is engaged in work. Data must meet certain confidentiality requirements in order to be published. The current publication rule for CFOI is that one or both of the following conditions must be met to publish data: there are 5 fatalities in a given category; or there are 3 separate incidents in the category. NYC fatality data is available only as a whole. The data is not published by county or NYC borough.

Data notes:

^a Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System - SPARCS: Data on hospitalizations are collected through the hospital inpatient discharge data system. Each hospitalization receives an ICD-9 code at discharge which indicates the primary reason for the hospitalization. Data are not available on events that did not result in a hospitalization, such as cases that were only treated in a hospital emergency room.

^b The HMR was established in 1980 as a tool for the surveillance of adult exposures to lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic. Information is received from all clinical laboratories that test for any of these four metals in the blood or urine of adults who live or work in New York State. In 1992, legislation (Section 22.6 and 22.7 of the State Sanitary Code) was enacted that required the reporting of all blood lead results, regardless of level.

^c In 1991, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics developed the "Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries" (CFOI) program to address the need for an accurate count of work-related fatalities. New York State (excluding New York City) enrolled in the CFOI program in 1993 and collected data retrospectively for 1992. New York City data are collected and analyzed separately by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.