There were 36 work-related fatalities in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018.

That’s according to statistics released today by Workplace NL.

Of the 36 people who died last year, four of those fatalities were workplace accidents, while the other 32 were due to occupational disease.

Almost two-thirds of occupational disease-related fatalities are due to exposure to harmful substances decades ago in the mining industry.

The most dangerous professions based on the number of fatalities recorded last year are the Construction Industry with 5, Manufacturing with 3, the Mining, Oil and Gas industry with 20, and the Service industry with 7.

Lost time due to soft-tissue injuries remained steady at 1 per 100 workers, while serious injuries grew by 11 per cent to 11.7 per 10,000 workers from 10.5 in 2017.

Mental health illnesses and disorders rose to 1.5 per 10,000 workers, from 0.8 in 2017.