Two workers died and another 19 were injured last week after a chemical leak in Kanawha County at a silver-based manufacturing plant. The response from emergency responders, regulators and residents was swift.
But the state has a long history of incidents where West Virginians have died on the job. Forty workers died at their workplaces in 2024, the most recent year for which federal data is available.
The state remains one of the deadliest places to work in the country, ranking seventh worst nationwide, according to the AFL-CIO’s Death on the Job report.
The report tracks workplace injuries, deaths and illnesses in each state, as well as how often employers are inspected.
And even though fatalities had dropped slightly from the previous year, labor leaders warn federal cuts to workplace safety agencies could leave workers with fewer protections.
Labor leaders say the Trump administration’s efforts to repeal safety regulations and downsize federal agencies that investigate unsafe working conditions in industries are undermining protections for workers.
“It is clear that health and safety for America’s workers is not a priority for this administration,” officials wrote in the AFL-CIO report.
During a memorial ceremony in Barboursville, West Virginia, AFL-CIO President Josh Sword read the names of the workers who died on the job last year, pausing as a bell tolled after each one.
He said there was no shortage of dangerous jobs in West Virginia, but there is a shortage of accountability needed to protect workers at the state and federal levels.
“We have to hold the line against attacks on worker safety and demand stronger enforcement of the laws meant to protect people on the job,” he said.
Trump administration threatens workplace safety
Last year, federal officials proposed eliminating more than 90% of the workforce at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an agency that studies workplace hazards.
The layoffs were later reversed, but the move jeopardized the research scientists and engineers at the agency were conducting.
The cuts are part of a broader move to scale back federal workplace safety protections and shrink the size of the federal government.
The administration has proposed reduced funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, limiting its ability to enforce safety rules and inspect job sites.
U.S. Department of Labor officials requested a decrease of 89 full-time employees and a $46 million reduction in OSHA’s budget.
In West Virginia, where the federal OSHA agency oversees workplace safety, enforcement is already stretched thin.
Only six federal inspectors are available to ensure the safety of over 695,000 employees and review over 60,000 employers. It could take 186 years to inspect every workplace in the state at least once, according to the report.
In 2011, there were 10 inspectors.
An OSHA spokesperson did not respond to questions about proposed funding cuts to the agency and the implications of fewer inspectors in West Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also halted certain mine safety inspections and proposed eliminating independent investigations into chemical accidents.
Labor leaders warn that together, the changes could weaken federal oversight in a state that already ranks among the most dangerous places to work.
At the end of Tuesday’s ceremony in Barboursville, the bell rang again, a final reminder of the workers who never made it home.
Sword said the goal was simple.
“We will not stop,” he said. “Until one year, on this day, no names will be read.”