Abstract
Death certificates for residents of Nassau County, New York dying between 1980 and 1982 were examined for causes of death defined as Sentinel Health Events (Occupational) (SHE(O]. Of 16,193 deaths from all causes, 2,286 (14.1 percent) were identified as SHE(O) deaths; 142 (6.2 percent) of these were matched for occupational and/or industry, 13 (9.2 percent) of which required no further match [corrected] because the cause of death was inherently related to the occupation or industry. Malignant neoplasms of the trachea, bronchus, or lung were the most frequently occurring SHE(O), accounting for 60 percent of all SHE(O) deaths and 81 percent of matched SHE(O) deaths. The construction industry was associated with the vast majority of such deaths.