by Moe Zilla

Created on: August 29, 2010

4,340 people died at work in 2009. So which jobs are the most dangerous? The Bureau of Labor Statistics carefully broke down the fatalities to determine which American professions are most likely to get you killed. At the top of the list was a very unexpected job: fisherman.  "Freezing water and icy boat decks can lead to horrific accidents," noted CNN, "and storms can swamp small fishing vessels, sometimes claiming entire crews."

Two out of every 500 fishermen die every  year, according to the Bureau's statistics, and yet their median wage is just $23,600. And the wages are also low for America's second most dangerous profession: logger. The hills are dangerous, and your workplace is almost always a rugged forest. Logging lore is full of horror stories about "widow maker" branches or the flying chain from a chainsaw which claimed a life in 2009.

The third most dangerous job in America is airplane pilot - and remember that that's not just commercial airliners. Tiny tourist planes fly hunters to remote lakes and rocky mountains, and this can create hazardous flying conditions like fog and unexpected barriers. And the fourth most dangerous profession is being a farmer. Harvest times are surprisingly short, and the tired and overworked farmers can easily be injured by their own powerful harvesting equipment.

Number five on the list is roofer, since they're working high off the ground, and carrying super-heated buckets of tar. Tar is heated to 525, and one roofer told CNN the special hazard that creates. "A guy's shirt with a lighter in the pocket fell into the tar and exploded." Ironworkers also face their own unique hazards, and the threat of shifting beams makes it the sixth most hazardous career in America.

Sanitation workers also have a dangerous job, according to the statistics. Garbage men have to perform their strenous work even in the hot summer weather, and there's also the risk of confronting hazardous waste - even the explosive chemicals discarded from meth labs. And the eighth most-hazardous profession in America is industrial machinist. It's not just the sparks flying from a welding torch; the automated machinery has been known to catch the loose clothing of a worker, and then crush them to death.

There's a remarkable statistic about America's ninth most-dangerous job. "More truckers and sales delivery men die on the job than any of the other top 10 occupations," CNN reports, "due to a moderately high fatality rate and a large number of workers." Truckers have tight schedules, which increases the risk of a traffic accident. And the 10th most dangerous job in America is construction worker.

Surprisingly, the 4,340 total fatalities in 2009. were hailed as an improvement, since it was 16.8% lower than the at-work death toll from the previous year, and the lowest yearly death-at-work rate that had ever been reported. It still comes out to 3.3 deaths for every 100,000 workers, which suggests a sobering truth. For some people, going in to work is a matter of life and death.

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