Sep. 19--Deaths among workers in America's oil and gas fields have risen at an alarming rate, The Associated Press reports. The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration and other government agencies should work harder to reduce those deaths. And in the long run, this is one more reason why our country needs to end its addiction to oil.

The fatality rate for oil and gas-field workers in this country between 2002 and 2007 was more than 29 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a whopping seven times the average for all occupations. Almost 600 oil and gas-field workers died during that time, and the number of deaths rose each year by about 70 percent.

These workers are killed when they're struck by equipment, fall from catwalks, are crushed by falling loads, burned in explosions or get caught up in chains and cables, the AP reported.

This has always been a dangerous industry, but the rising figures are unacceptable.

There are many reasons behind the chilling figures, including the sharp increase in drilling; a high-pressure environment where safety lapses rarely get tough penalties from government agencies; and alcohol and drug use among workers, some of whom use meth to make it through long shifts. All that, plus the fact that many of these workers are inexperienced, is a recipe for disaster.

"A lot of the rig crews are made up of people who were working at Wal-Mart yesterday. Literally," said Mark Altom of the Energy Training Council in Woodard, Okla.

With overtime, oil and gas-field workers can make $50,000 a year and better. But heavy risks come with the money.

Most of the deaths have occurred in Texas, the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the country. Patterson-UTI Energy, based in Snyder, Texas, is America's second-largest oil and gas-driller. It's also had 20 employees die on the job between 2002 and 2007, the AP reported. That's the most for that period of any of the companies the AP looked at.

And OSHA did little to improve safety at the company. "OSHA's attempts to stop Patterson from gambling with workers' lives are a study in weakness," a Senate committee said in a report released in April.

Patterson-UTI says it has stepped up efforts to keep its employees safe. Early indications suggest that the effort has resulted in fewer accidents, the company and OSHA agree.

Let's hope so. But the increasing risks for workers in the oil and gas industry are clear. OSHA and other agencies must do a better job of protecting them.

And our country must step up its efforts to produce alternative energy. Too many workers are dying because of our senseless addiction to oil.

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