The standards OSHA cites most often include several that laboratory managers know well: hazard communication, control of hazardous energy, respiratory protection, and equipment guarding. A new National Safety Council (NSC) analysis pairs those recurring compliance issues with national injury and fatality data, giving managers another way to examine where their safety controls need attention.
Released September 17, 2026, the analysis draws on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for injury and fatality events associated with categories in OSHA’s preliminary fiscal year 2026 Top 10 list. The figures cover workers across industries, not laboratories specifically. They also do not establish that a particular OSHA violation caused a particular injury.
Chemical hazards and equipment servicing stand out
Hazard communication ranked second on OSHA’s list, with 1,961 citations. NSC reported that chemicals were the primary injury source in 50 workplace deaths in 2024 and 29,380 cases involving days away from work, restricted work, or job transfer across 2023 and 2024.
For laboratories, those figures make chemical labeling and safety data sheets a useful starting point for a safety review. Managers can check whether staff can identify the hazards of chemicals they use, find current safety information, and follow procedures for handling and storage. The applicable requirements depend on the work being performed, including whether OSHA’s laboratory standard or hazard communication standard governs an activity.
Control of hazardous energy, commonly called lockout/tagout, ranked third, with 1,863 citations. NSC associated hazardous-energy events with 44 deaths in 2024 and 16,590 cases involving days away, restricted work, or transfer in 2023 and 2024. It reported electrical exposure separately: 130 deaths in 2024 and 6,010 such cases over the two-year period.
For lab managers, the question is who controls an instrument’s energy sources when someone clears a jam, replaces a component, or performs maintenance. Reviewing lockout/tagout practices for analyzers, centrifuges, and other equipment can clarify the responsibilities of lab staff, facilities personnel, and service vendors.
Use the list as a starting point
Respiratory protection, eye and face protection, and machine guarding also appeared in OSHA’s Top 10. NSC reported 65,300 reportable respiratory illness cases in 2024; 95,490 eye and face injury cases involving days away, restricted work, or transfer in 2023 and 2024; and 213 deaths in 2024 involving workers struck by or caught in running equipment.
Those national totals are not estimates of laboratory risk. They do, however, suggest questions managers can test against their own operations: Are workers using protection suited to each task? Are guards in place when equipment runs? Do procedures cover troubleshooting and servicing as well as routine use?
Citation frequency alone does not establish which hazards pose the greatest risk in a given lab. Managers can use the OSHA list alongside their chemical inventory, equipment procedures, training records, and safety audits to identify gaps specific to their staff and work.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
