10 Riskiest Jobs in the World
There are many jobs which carry risks and sometimes leave workers in dangerous situations. Soldiers and policemen can spend their working lives in unsafe environments and firemen are exposed to flames and collapsing buildings everyday. However, some jobs are just as dangerous but have a much lower profile of those in the emergency services and the forces. Here are our top ten riskiest jobs and there may be a few surprises.
Credit: Kecko
Although a fairly average and unexciting job, being a roofer is a actually a very dangerous occupation with several fatalities a year in the UK. The high environments many have to work on, coupled with the uneven, unstable work surfaces are a recipe for disaster. Wind rain and snow all make it worse and many roofers are guilty of not following the proper safety procedures making the risk higher than it needs to be.
Credit: Paul_Passion_Poetry
As see on Sky, ‘The Deadliest Catch’ follows several fishermen as they go out to work, sometimes in the middle of the night to earn a crust. There have been several deaths on the program, highlighting the intense pressure workers find themselves under in the high seas. The conditions in which they work in can be anything from rainy and windy to snowy and icy and always in deep water. In one episode of ‘The Deadliest Catch’ The Big Valley sank in the Bering Sea while out crab fishing with the loss of five of the crew while three are still unaccounted for.
Credit: USDAgov
What could be difficult about cutting down a tree? When it is a ten ton tree the size of a house things can become slightly hairy and that is the sort of size many loggers deal with on a day to day basis. The equipment used is also very heavy duty and in the wrong hands, extremely dangerous. In January 2012 Juan Ruiz was killed when two felled logs rolled and crushed him to death. It was the 2nd fatality in as may months in the Arcata of California.
Credit: RLEVANS
If someone told you they were a builder, you wouldn’t automatically have images of dangerous situations pop into your head, in the same way you might if someone said they were a fireman. However, in 2010 and 2011, the construction industry saw 50 fatal injuries among staff from a variety of ways including roof collapses, falls and machinery accidents. In 2008 a crane collapsed on Manhattan, New York killing three construction workers, a pedestrian and tearing down a whole block of residential buildings. It was considered one of the worst construction accidents in ten years.
Credit: john.herrett
One in five work related deaths is through farming, making this very high up in the dangerous jobs list. With heavy machinery and unpredictable farm animals there are dangers everywhere but with the correct procedures health and safety executives have said that this statistic is unexpectedly high. In 2009 father of two Paul Nash was killed when he was run over with farm machinery, Tony Taylor, 66 was crushed to death by a mechanical digger in 2008 and more recently, farmer Ian Rook was killed in 2010 when he tried to move a bull. The bull charged at him and tossed him in the air causing fatal head injuries.
Credit: brianfuller6385
Yes, not only do binmen have one of the most undesirable jobs in this country, they also have one of the most dangerous. In 2010 there were 19 waste disposal deaths in the UK mainly due to machinery fails and accidents. Workers also come into contact regularly with hazardous substances which have been thrown out in the rubbish including chemicals and glass.
Credit: thomaspetermueller
Telephone companies are getting bigger and better, meaning telephone pylons are shooting up at an alarming rate. Many of the companies contracted to do this kind of work do not have the correct safety equipment and so accidents are a common occurrence.
Credit: acecphotos
No, we are not talking about the pilots here - the job you may associate with danger and fatalities. In fact pilots are pretty low down on dangerous job lists as; although there are plane crashes, they are far less common than many other accidents. Flight engineers however stay on the ground exposing themselves to chemicals and testing the latest flight equipment which can result in explosions and fatal accidents.
Credit: bunnygoth
Many of all work related accidents happen while out on the road and so it figures that lorry drivers, who spend nearly all their working life on the road are prone to a fair number of accidents. From little scuffs to full blown fatal accidents thousands of lorries are involved in accidents every year making it one of the most dangerous jobs.
Credit: sgetliffe
These people spend hours every week working to save peoples lives, almost always putting themselves in danger too. Many of these workers are actually volunteers and spend their evenings and weekends watching out for anyone in trouble at sea. In small towns and cities the coastguard often has very little equipment to work with and only one small lifeboat, however they will continue to go out in treacherous conditions for swimmers and sailors in trouble.
This article was written by PolicyExpert.co.uk; insurance specialists offering impartial and personalized advice for people around the UK.
Roofer
Credit: Kecko
Although a fairly average and unexciting job, being a roofer is a actually a very dangerous occupation with several fatalities a year in the UK. The high environments many have to work on, coupled with the uneven, unstable work surfaces are a recipe for disaster. Wind rain and snow all make it worse and many roofers are guilty of not following the proper safety procedures making the risk higher than it needs to be.
Commercial fisherman
Credit: Paul_Passion_Poetry
As see on Sky, ‘The Deadliest Catch’ follows several fishermen as they go out to work, sometimes in the middle of the night to earn a crust. There have been several deaths on the program, highlighting the intense pressure workers find themselves under in the high seas. The conditions in which they work in can be anything from rainy and windy to snowy and icy and always in deep water. In one episode of ‘The Deadliest Catch’ The Big Valley sank in the Bering Sea while out crab fishing with the loss of five of the crew while three are still unaccounted for.
Logger
Credit: USDAgov
What could be difficult about cutting down a tree? When it is a ten ton tree the size of a house things can become slightly hairy and that is the sort of size many loggers deal with on a day to day basis. The equipment used is also very heavy duty and in the wrong hands, extremely dangerous. In January 2012 Juan Ruiz was killed when two felled logs rolled and crushed him to death. It was the 2nd fatality in as may months in the Arcata of California.
Construction workers
Credit: RLEVANS
If someone told you they were a builder, you wouldn’t automatically have images of dangerous situations pop into your head, in the same way you might if someone said they were a fireman. However, in 2010 and 2011, the construction industry saw 50 fatal injuries among staff from a variety of ways including roof collapses, falls and machinery accidents. In 2008 a crane collapsed on Manhattan, New York killing three construction workers, a pedestrian and tearing down a whole block of residential buildings. It was considered one of the worst construction accidents in ten years.
Agriculture
Credit: john.herrett
One in five work related deaths is through farming, making this very high up in the dangerous jobs list. With heavy machinery and unpredictable farm animals there are dangers everywhere but with the correct procedures health and safety executives have said that this statistic is unexpectedly high. In 2009 father of two Paul Nash was killed when he was run over with farm machinery, Tony Taylor, 66 was crushed to death by a mechanical digger in 2008 and more recently, farmer Ian Rook was killed in 2010 when he tried to move a bull. The bull charged at him and tossed him in the air causing fatal head injuries.
Binmen
Credit: brianfuller6385
Yes, not only do binmen have one of the most undesirable jobs in this country, they also have one of the most dangerous. In 2010 there were 19 waste disposal deaths in the UK mainly due to machinery fails and accidents. Workers also come into contact regularly with hazardous substances which have been thrown out in the rubbish including chemicals and glass.
Telephone pylon workers
Credit: thomaspetermueller
Telephone companies are getting bigger and better, meaning telephone pylons are shooting up at an alarming rate. Many of the companies contracted to do this kind of work do not have the correct safety equipment and so accidents are a common occurrence.
Flight Engineers
Credit: acecphotos
No, we are not talking about the pilots here - the job you may associate with danger and fatalities. In fact pilots are pretty low down on dangerous job lists as; although there are plane crashes, they are far less common than many other accidents. Flight engineers however stay on the ground exposing themselves to chemicals and testing the latest flight equipment which can result in explosions and fatal accidents.
Long haul lorry driver
Credit: bunnygoth
Many of all work related accidents happen while out on the road and so it figures that lorry drivers, who spend nearly all their working life on the road are prone to a fair number of accidents. From little scuffs to full blown fatal accidents thousands of lorries are involved in accidents every year making it one of the most dangerous jobs.
Coastguards
Credit: sgetliffe
These people spend hours every week working to save peoples lives, almost always putting themselves in danger too. Many of these workers are actually volunteers and spend their evenings and weekends watching out for anyone in trouble at sea. In small towns and cities the coastguard often has very little equipment to work with and only one small lifeboat, however they will continue to go out in treacherous conditions for swimmers and sailors in trouble.
