Despite Ford Explosion, Workplaces Are Safer

The tragic explosion of a boiler in a power plant at Ford Motor Co.'s River Rouge complex, Dearborn, Mich., that killed one and injured nearly two dozen others on Feb. 1 notwithstanding, industrial accidents in the U.S. are declining. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released in mid-December, injury and illness rates at U.S. workplaces declined 16.5% from 1993 to 1997 even as the economy added 17 million new jobs.