Association rates 'safest places to work'

Washington, Des Moines and San Francisco top the list of the safest cities to work in America, according to an analysis from the Textile Rental Services Association of America.

The association's Work Safety Regional Statistical Analysis adapts data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the safety record of different industries in relation to their prevalence in a community.

Alexandria, VA-based TRSA cited BLS data showing the economywide total reportable cases rate fell to 3.9 cases per 100 full-time workers from 5.0 between 2003 and 2008, an association press release (.pdf file) said. The association used industry total reportable case rates to calculate a safety rating, called a Work SafeTRSA, for each of the top 100 metropolitan areas. Regions with more jobs in high-risk industries receive higher scores -- meaning they are less safe.

The national work safety rating is about 78 -- down significantly from the 2003 baseline of 100, the release said. The Washington metro area came in first at 69.43, while the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission region in Texas was rated worst at 85.16.