Michigan had 31 worker deaths in 2024 and 36 in 2023.

Michigan workplace safety officials confirmed a pair of deaths on Tuesday, Oct. 7, raising the number on-the-job fatalities this year to 34.

The latest deadly incidents involved an industrial painter who was overcome by fumes and an oil well worker who was struck by equipment.

On Oct. 3, an industrial painter working at a hydro power station outside of Marquette was overcome by fumes.

The 40-year-old painter and a coworker were applying an overcoating inside a penstock, a pipe-like structure that carries water at the power plant, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration said.

"During the task, the multi-gas meter alarmed, and the hole watch attendant notified both workers inside the space. One worker was able to

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