Erfurt (dpa/th) - By the end of August, six fatal accidents at work had been registered in Thuringia. This was announced by the Ministry of Social Affairs on Tuesday in Erfurt. In addition, 21 serious accidents at work were reported to the State Office for Consumer Protection this year. The ministry gave the figures in connection with the presentation of the occupational health and safety report for the past year.
As the report shows, the number of reportable accidents at work decreased last year compared to 2020. 6,867 accidents at work were reported to the Thuringian occupational safety authorities. In 2020 there were 7526. As in the previous year, four fatal accidents at work were recorded last year. The number of serious accidents increased from 18 in 2020 to 33 in 2021.
According to the information, a significant increase in the number of cases was observed in the area of occupational diseases. 2486 suspected cases were reported to the State Office for Consumer Protection as the responsible occupational safety authority (2020: 1991). Of these, 804 cases were estimated to be work-related (2020: 661). With 284 cases, hearing loss due to noise came first, followed by skin diseases due to natural UV radiation with 93 cases and diseases caused by asbestos, including asbestos cancer, with 56 cases. 89 Covid-19 diseases were classified as work-related last year.
