The special severity of occupational accidents in the afternoon: ‘The lunch effect’

The severity of occupational accidents suffered by construction workers at different hours of the day is analyzed in this study. It may be seen that the interval of time between 13:00 and 17:00 has incomprehensibly high rates of severe and fatal accidents in comparison with any other. We associate this higher accident rate with what we have termed the ‘lunch effect’. We studied 10,239,303 labor accidents in Spain over the period 1990–2002. The relationships between potential risk factors for occupational accidents around lunch in Spain, especially alcohol consumption are studied, using two methods: analysis of national archival data of 2,155,954 occupational accidents suffered by workers in the construction sector over the period 1990–2002 and a survey study. This study also seeks to contribute the opinions of the workers themselves regarding the causes that might explain this situation.