Union Report Ranks W.Va. 3rd for Workplace Deaths

West Virginia suffered a workplace death rate twice the national average in 2006, with 79 workers killed on the job, according to a new report from the AFL-CIO.

"Only Alaska and Wyoming were worse," Public Broadcasting reports. "Twenty-six workers died in vehicle accidents, 22 in fires and explosions, and 14 from contact with objects and equipment."

That reports also notes that "the Sago Mine Disaster accounts for 12 of those deaths."

The Charleston Gazette also has a story, and notes that "the AFL-CIO report is based on U.S. Department of Labor statistics for the 2006 calendar year, the latest figures available."