More than 54,000 workers die every year on the job or from long-term exposure to hazardous substances such as asbestos, silica and benzene.

And criminal prosecution of workplace safety violations is one way to attack the rising death toll.

That’s according to a report — Not an Accident: Preventable Deaths 2015 — from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

“Fifty-four thousand deaths a year is way too many,” said National COSH Executive Director Mary Vogel.  “We need tougher penalties. We need prosecutions for criminal violations.  And we need to listen to workers, and use proven strategies that protect all workers, reduce injuries and save lives.”

According to the report, 4,585 U.S. workers died on the job due to unsafe working conditions in 2013.

An estimated 50,000 workers die each year from long-term exposure to hazardous substances such as asbestos, silica and benzene.

The report found that proven prevention strategies are available for all the major categories which result in worker deaths, including transportation incidents, contacts with objects and equipment, falls to a lower level, workplace violence, exposure to harmful substances and environments and fires and explosions.

The report presents case studies of seven workers who died on the job in 2014, from different industries and different parts of the country, with each case illustrating how workplace hazards can be reduced and lives saved if proper safety protocols are followed.

During a media briefing to announce the release of today’s report, Celeste Monforton, DrPH, a public health consultant and professorial lecturer at George Washington University, discussed the upcoming trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.

Blankenship indicted for conspiracy to violate mine safety laws, following the death of 29 miners at the Massey-owned Upper Big Branch mine in 2010.

“This trial will be a wake-up call for corporate America,” said Monforton. “If you cut corners, if you operate unsafely and people get hurt as a result, you can be held accountable in a court of law. I’m not sure many companies understood that before; I hope they understand it now.”

Three former Massey executives are currently serving prison terms after pleading guilty or being convicted on charges stemming from the Upper Big Branch disaster.

Mary Jane Collins of Sheridan Wyoming, who lost her 20-year old grandson Brett on a construction site 2012, talked about her efforts to increase penalties for safety violations in the state of Wyoming.

Brett Collins died when struck by an excavator while working in a trench. After penalties for Brett’s death were reduced to less than $3,000, family members were outraged.

“My grandson died just a few days before he was going back to school,” said Collins. “We don’t want anyone else to suffer a loss like we have.  Our thinking is, if employers have to pay a real fine when something goes wrong, they’ll make sure to the job right in the first place.”

Wyoming legislators, working with the Collins family, have introduced a bill that would require a $50,000 fine for safety violations that lead to the death of a worker.

“In 2015, there’s no reason for a worker to die in a trench or due to a fall from a building or any other workplace hazard,” said Peter Dooley, a project consultant for National COSH.

Dooley has investigated dozens of workplace fatalities during a decades-long career as a workplace safety specialist.

“I’ve seen every hazard you can think of in every kind of workplace,” Dooley said.  “I haven’t seen one yet that can’t be controlled or eliminated – if you establish health and safety programs with proven components such as worker participation.”

On April 28th, National COSH will release the U.S. Worker Fatality Database, the most comprehensive effort to date to gather specific information about workplace deaths.

It will cover some 1,500 fatalities, about one-third of all workers who died on the job in 2014, with an interactive map feature to show where the incidents took place.