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Accident Analysis and Prevention 42 (2010) 44–49

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Accident Analysis and Prevention

journa l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com/ locate /aap

ritain’s most hazardous occupation: Commercial fishing

tephen E. Roberts ∗

chool of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

r t i c l e i n f o

rticle history:eceived 10 November 2008eceived in revised form 19 June 2009ccepted 30 June 2009

eywords:azardous occupations

atal accidents

a b s t r a c t

The main objectives of this study were to investigate the causes and circumstances of all fatal work-relatedaccidents in the UK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005, to compare fatal accident rates with those in allother British occupations and industries and in the general British workforce, and to establish long termtrends in the fatal accident rate in UK fishing since 1919.

Of 160 deaths from work-related accidents in the UK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005, 86 arose fromincidents involving fishing vessels and 74 were from personal accidents, with a fatal accident rate of 102per 100,000 fishermen-years. After fishermen, the next most hazardous occupations were dockers and

ommercial fishing stevedores (28 per 100,000), refuse and salvage workers (25), agricultural machinery drivers (18), steelerectors, road construction workers (both 15), roofers (13) and scaffolders (12). The fatal accident rateamong fishermen was 115 times greater than in the general British workforce, while there has been littlereduction in the fatal accident rate in the UK fishing industry in the last 60 years.

This study shows that commercial fishing is by far the most hazardous occupation in Britain. Preventionof fatal accidents should focus on increased use of personal flotation devices, reductions in lone fishing

nsea

and the use of unstable, u

. Introduction

Historically, commercial fishing has been one of the most haz-rdous occupations. Towards the end of the 19th century, fatalccident rates among fishermen from British ports such as Hull andloucester were reported as between 1 and 6% each year (Tunstall,962). The hazards of fishing were brought to greater public atten-ion in 1968, when 58 fishermen were lost after three Hull trawlers

the Kingston Peridot, Ross Cleveland and St Romanus – founderedmid storms in Arctic waters during a 3-week period.

A subsequent national inquiry into fatal accidents in the UKshing industry (Holland-Martin, 1969; Schilling, 1971), led toew safety legislation in 1970. However, since then studies havehown that there has been little reduction in the fatal accidentate in the UK fishing industry from the 1960s to the early 1990sReilly, 1985; Roberts, 2004). At the same time, the fatal acci-ent rate in other British industries declined sharply (Cooper,995). High fatal accident rates were also identified at this timemong fishermen employed in other fishing fleets, including those

f Alaska (Schnitzer et al., 1993), Australia (Driscoll et al., 1994),anada (Hasselback and Neutel, 1990), Denmark (Jensen, 1994),ew Zealand (Norrish and Cryer, 1990), Poland (Jaremin et al., 1997)nd the USA (NIOSH, 1994).

∗ Tel.: +44 1792 513433/513426; fax: +44 1792 513423.E-mail address: stephen.e.roberts@swansea.ac.uk.

001-4575/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.oi:10.1016/j.aap.2009.06.031

worthy and badly maintained fishing vessels.© 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The first objective of this study was to investigate the causes andcircumstances of all fatal work-related accidents in the UK fishingindustry during the recent 10-year period from 1996 to 2005. Fur-ther objectives were to compare fatal accident rates with those in allother British occupations and industries and in the general Britishworkforce, to establish long term trends in the fatal accident rate inthe UK fishing industry since 1919, and to discuss recommendationsfor the reduction of fatal work-related accidents in UK fishing.

2. Methods

2.1. Fatal accidents among fishermen

Since the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, fatal work-related acci-dents among fishermen in the UK fishing industry have not beenregistered with local registrars of deaths. Instead, they have beenregistered separately at the Registry of Shipping and Seamen (RSS),previously known as the Registrar General for Shipping and Sea-men (RGSS). These deaths are not usually included in decennialoccupational mortality publications and routine mortality statis-tics. Thus, mortality for fishermen, as reported by these sources, isgrossly underestimated. Furthermore, the causes of fatal accidents

in the fishing industry are not usually investigated convention-ally through coroners’ inquisitions, but instead through marineinquiries. In this study, details of all fatal accidents in British fish-ing were obtained from examination of paper death inquiry filesand death registers held at the RSS, which included marine inquiry

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eports, and from narrative and electronic accident data providedy the principal British marine investigative authority, the Marineccident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

The study included all deaths among full-time or part-time com-ercial fishermen who were employed in fishing vessels that were

egistered in a UK port between 1 January 1996 and 31 Decem-er 2005, providing that the deaths occurred at work or within 30ays of any discharge ashore following the accident. Deaths amonghobby” fishermen, who do not fish commercially were excluded.

.2. Historical comparison of fatal accidents

For historical comparison, the study included separately, all fatalccidents in the UK fishing industry from 1 January 1919 to 31ecember 1995; excluding the World War II years from 1939 to946 when this information was not available. From 1976 to 1995,etails of all fatal accidents were obtained from the same studyources; RSS death inquiry files and death registers and MAIB acci-ent data. For the period from 1919 to 1975, information on fatalccidents in UK fishing was collected from annual death returns,hich were based on the RSS death inquiry files and death registers.

hese returns were published by the Board of Trade, the Depart-ent of Trade and Industry, the Department of Industry and theepartment of Trade, as described previously (Roberts, 2008).

.3. Populations at risk

The numbers of fishermen employed annually in the UK fish-ng industry were obtained from annual publications produced byhe former Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for the periodrom 1919 to 1954 (MAF, 1954), and its successors; the Ministry ofgriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) from 1955 to 1998 (MAFF,956–1999), and the Department for Environment, Food and Ruralffairs (DEFRA) from 1999 to 2005 (DEFRA, 2000–2006). Crewing

nformation was unavailable for the World War II period. The fish-rmen were conventionally counted as if they had been employedor the whole of each year. There was a total population of 156,467shermen-years employed in the UK fishing industry from 1996

o 2005 and 2.25 million fishermen-years from 1919 to 1938 and947–2005. The number of fishermen fell from 42,555 in 1919 to9,011 in 1938 and from 45,555 in 1947 to less than 25,000 by the

ate 1960s. It then remained fairly constant at between 20,000 and5,000 from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. Since 1994 the numberf fishermen has fallen almost every year, with 12,647 fishermenmployed in 2005.

.4. Occupational comparison of fatal accident rates

Fatal accident rates were calculated by dividing the numbers ofeaths from fatal accidents by the total populations at risk and werexpressed per 100,000 worker-years. The fatal accident rate in theK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005 was compared with those

n the general British workforce, in the five main industrial sectorsnd in all occupations in Great Britain except commercial fishinguring the same period, using fatal accident information publishednnually (HSE, 1977–2006), and provided on request by the Healthnd Safety Executive (HSE). These fatal accidents included all thatccurred at the workplace, excluding non-work-related traffic acci-ents and self-inflicted poisoning by alcohol or drugs. Populationst risk for the five main industries and for the general British work-orce were provided annually by the HSE. Populations at risk for

ll individual occupations were derived from employment figuresrovided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the cen-us year 2001, using the SOC-1990 and SOC-2000 occupationallassifications. When presenting 95% confidence intervals for fatalccident rates in the UK fishing industry, they were adjusted for

Prevention 42 (2010) 44–49 45

multiple fatalities arising through the same accident by using a nor-mal approximation to the compound Poisson distribution. Multiplefatalities arising from the same accident usually refer to incidentsinvolving fishing vessels, such as a foundering, collision or explo-sion.

3. Results

3.1. Fatal accidents in the UK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005

A total of 160 deaths from work-related accidents occurred inthe UK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005. Incidents involvingfishing vessels – such as a foundering, collision, grounding or anexplosion – accounted for 86 (54%) deaths and personal accidentsaffecting individual fishermen caused 74 deaths (46%; Table 1).The medical cause of death for the 160 fatal accidents was drown-ing, presumed drowning or hypothermia in 137 cases (86%), injury(17) and asphyxiation by fumes (6). The mean age at death of the160 deceased was 36.4 years (S.D. = 11.4). A further 11 deaths mayalso have been caused by accidents, although the circumstances inwhich these deaths occurred were unclear. Two of these fishermendisappeared at sea, eight also went missing before they were sub-sequently found drowned and the other died from alcohol and drugpoisoning.

The 86 deaths from incidents involving fishing vessels aroseduring 38 separate different cases (Table 1). Nineteen fatalitiesresulted from 7 vessels that foundered or capsized as a main conse-quence of severe weather and sea state conditions. However, otherfactors such as poor decision making and perception of risk – tocontinue fishing in adverse conditions – and deficiencies in ves-sel construction and lifesaving equipment were also reported asmajor contributory factors in several of these cases. Thirty-threefishermen died after 15 vessels foundered or capsized as a mainconsequence of being unstable, overloaded, badly maintained orunseaworthy. These include the Solway Harvester which was lost inthe Irish Sea with seven men. Many of these 15 vessels had under-gone modifications that were of detriment to their safety or wereotherwise badly designed or maintained.

Fourteen lives were lost when three vessels were wrecked aftergrounding, including the Arosa which grounded during storms offthe west coast of Ireland with 12 men lost. Fatigue was thoughtto be a major factor in the two other groundings. A collision witha merchant ship caused five fatalities, with both vessels at faultnavigationally, while seven fishermen were lost when four vesselscapsized after fishing gear had snagged underwater obstructions(Table 1).

33 of the 74 personal accidents (45%) occurred during ‘hauling-in’ and ‘shooting-out’ operations involving trawling nets and otherfishing equipment. The most common type of fatal accident (32,43% of all fatal personal accidents) involved falls overboard. Mostof these accidents arose from small fishing vessels (Table 1) andone-third (11; 34%) were lone fisherman. As well as fishing alone,many of these deceased were not wearing personal flotation devices(pfds), while other common causes of these fatal falls include lowguard rails and sudden vessel movements in rough seas. Ten fish-ermen were lost after being struck by fishing gear and 6 by heavyseas. Causal factors in these 10 deaths included, variously, defec-tive equipment, hazardous working procedures, freak waves anda failure to wear pfds or protective clothing. Seven were killedthrough off-duty falls into docks, which were caused mainly byhazardous access to the trawlers from the shore and/or alcohol con-

sumption. Of the 74 fatal personnel accidents, almost one quarter(17; 23%) involved fishermen who operated single-handedly (lonefishermen) and 15 (20%) occurred from vessels that fished primar-ily using pots (potters). These had increased from, respectively 14deaths (8%) and 12 (7%) during the preceding 20 years.

46 S.E. Roberts / Accident Analysis and Prevention 42 (2010) 44–49

Table 1Numbers of deaths from accidents according to the type of accident and the length of the fishing vessel in the UK fishing industry, 1996–2005.

Type of fatal accident Length of fishing vessel (m) No. of vessel incidents Total deaths from accidents

<12 12–23.9 24–35.9 36+

Incidents involving vesselsFoundered/capsized

Adverse weather 9 4 6 (7) 19Snagged gear on underwater obstructions 2 4 1 (4) 7Unstable/overloaded/unseaworthy 21 11 1 (15) 33

CollisionsWith merchant ships 5 (1) 5

GroundedDuring storms 12 (1) 12Navigational error/alcohol/fatigue 1 1 (2) 2

Fires and explosionsIn galleys 1 (1) 1In accommodation areas 2 (2) 2

Missing vessels and unknown causes 5 (4) 5

86

Personal accidentsStruck by gear

Injured – shooting operations 1 1 1 3Injured – hauling operations 2 2 2 6Knocked overboard – hauling operations 1 1

Struck by heavy seasWashed overboard – shooting operations 1 1 2Washed overboard – other operations 1 1 2Injured – shooting operations 1 1Injured – hauling operations 1 1

Entangled in gearDragged overboard – shooting operations 3 2 1 6Dragged overboard – hauling operations 1 1Dragged overboard – other operations 1 1Dragged into winch – shooting operations 1 1Dragged into winch – hauling operations 1 1 2

Falls overboardDuring shooting operations 5 1 1 7During hauling operations 2 2During other and unknown operations 6 10 5 2 23

Falls into docksReturing to berthed vessels from ashore 5 2 1 8

Asphyxiated by fumesIn the engine room 1 1On deck 3 3

Other and ill defined accidents 1 1 1 3

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.2. Trends in fatal accident rates

From 1919 to 2005, there were a total of 4111 deaths from fatalccidents in the UK fishing industry, 2419 (59%) from incidentsnvolving fishing vessels and 1692 (41%) from personal accidents.he fatal accident rate increased from 267 per 100,000 fishermen-ears during 1919–1934 to 457 per 100,000 during 1935–1938 (seeig. 1(a)). Since World War II, the fatal accident rate has been muchower (130 per 100,000 overall), with no discernible reduction overime from 1948 to 2005 (Fig. 1(a); Spearman’s rank correlationoefficient = −0.15; p = 0.27).

The years when the fatal accident rate was highest since 1948

ere 1974 when the Hull trawler Gaul sank north of Norway (36shermen lost), 1968 when the Hull trawlers Ross Cleveland, andingston Peridot capsized in the Denmark Strait and the St Romanusisappeared in other Arctic waters (58 lost) and in 1955 when theull trawlers Roderigo and Lorella also capsized in the Denmark

74

20 160

Strait (40 lost). Although there has been little change over time inthe fatal accident rate in the UK fishing industry since the 1940s,there has been a sharp increase in the mortality rate for lone fishingaccidents in recent years (Fig. 1(b)).

3.3. Comparison of fatal accident rates across all Britishoccupations

When comparing fatal accidents rates across all occupationsin Great Britain, commercial fishing was significantly by far themost hazardous occupation (102 per 100,000 fishermen-years;Fig. 2). Fishermen were followed by dockers and stevedores

(28 per 100,000 worker-years), refuse and salvage workers (25),agricultural machinery drives (18), steel erectors and road con-struction workers (both 15 per 100,000), roofers (13), scaffolders(12), rail construction workers and merchant seafarers (both11).

S.E. Roberts / Accident Analysis and

Fig. 1. Trends in fatal accident rates among fishermen in the UK fishing industry: (a)f(un

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atal accident rates for incidents involving fishing vessels and for personal accidents1919–2005). Note. Crewing population information for the UK fishing industry wasnavailable during the years from 1939 to 1946, so that fatal accident rates couldot be established. (b) Fatal accident rates for lone fishing accidents (1976–2005).

From 1996 to 2005, there were 2475 deaths from fatal accidentst work among the general (shore-based) workforce of Great BritainHSE, 1977–2006), with a corresponding fatal accident rate of 0.89er 100,000 worker-years. The fatal accident rate in the UK fish-

ng industry was 115 times higher than in the general workforce.ncluding drowning in uncertain circumstances – which were prob-bly also accidental – with the accidents would increase this relativeisk to 121. The increased risks of a fatal accident in the UK fishingndustry, compared with the five main industrial sectors in Greatritain, were as follows; agriculture, forestry and inshore fishing11 times higher), energy and water supply (23), construction (24),

anufacturing (81), service industries (292). While there has beenittle reduction over time in the fatal accident rate in the UK fishingndustry in the last 60 years, there has been a sharp decline amonghe general British workforce, from 5.9 per 100,000 in 1961 to 0.9n 1996–2005. Hence, the relative risk of a fatal accident rate in theshing industry has increased sharply over time from 19 in 1961 to2 during 1976–1995 and 121 during 1996–2005.

. Discussion

This study shows that in recent years commercial fishing haseen by far the most hazardous occupation in Great Britain, withfatal accident rate that is 115 times greater than in the general

ritish workforce, and almost 4 times greater than the second most

azardous occupation, dockers and stevedores. This relative risk offatal accident in the UK fishing industry has increased from 52

uring the earlier period from 1976 to 1995 (Roberts, 2002). Thistudy covers 160 fatal accidents in the UK fishing industry from996 to 2005 and over 4000 fatal accidents in the UK fishing indus-

Prevention 42 (2010) 44–49 47

try over the 87-year period from 1919 to 2005. It is based on uniqueand reliable information sources that have been used as the basis ofprevious studies of occupational mortality (Holland-Martin, 1969;Schilling, 1971; Reilly, 1985; Roberts, 2002, 2004, 2008). In partic-ular, there are statutory responsibilities for the MAIB to be notifiedof – and to investigate – all fatal accidents in the UK fishing indus-try. Therefore, unlike many studies of non-fatal accidents which canbe subject to under-reporting, case ascertainment is reliable in thisstudy. Although there were changes over time in the governmentdepartments and agencies that reported, investigated and regis-tered the fatal accidents in the UK fishing industry, this should notaffect case ascertainment of fatal accidents in this study.

The fatal accident rate in the UK fishing industry increased fromthe 1920s to the late 1930s. However, following the resumption offull scale fishing activities after World War II and partly becauseof the replenishment of local fishing stocks, the fatal accident wasmuch lower. Over the last 60 years there has been little discerniblefurther reduction in the fatal accident rate. As the fatal accidentrates in the general British workforce and in other occupationshave fallen sharply during the same time period, in relative terms,commercial fishing has become increasingly more hazardous overtime.

From the early years of the 20th century, the UK fishing fleetincluded a large distant water sector of larger trawlers (>42 m inlength) that operated in Arctic waters off Iceland, Greenland, Nor-way, Newfoundland and Bear Island. The crews of these largertrawlers suffered the highest fatal accident rates in the UK fishingindustry (DT, 1974–1976). Since the 1970s, the UK fishing fleet hascomprised mainly of much smaller near and middle distance watervessels that operate largely in waters around the UK. However, thefact that the overall fatal accident rate in the UK fishing industry hasnot fallen since the mid-1970s indicates that the hazards of Arcticfishing have been replaced with new hazards.

Since the 1970s, there has been a sharp increase in the mortalityrate for lone fishing accidents. Lone fishing carries increased risksas there are no colleagues to assist in the event of the fishermenfalling overboard or experiencing other types of accident, while lonefishing is repeatedly cautioned against in safety guidelines. The factthat fishermen resort to this practice reflects increased financialpressures in the UK fishing industry in recent years.

Few studies have been able to establish how fatal accident ratesvary across the different sectors of fishing fleets. In the UK fishingindustry, there has been an increase over time in fatal accidentsamong the crews of potting vessels. Although it is unclear whetherpotting is the most hazardous form of fishing in the UK fleet today– because of the absence of sector-specific crewing information –potting (mainly for crabs) has been reported as the most dangeroussector of the Alaskan fishing industry (Lincoln and Conway, 1999;Thomas et al., 2001).

The main cause of mortality from incidents involving fishing ves-sels in the UK fishing industry in recent years – from 1996 to 2005 –was the foundering of unstable, badly maintained and unseaworthyvessels. This appears to have superseded fishing vessels founderingbecause of adverse weather as the major cause of death from fishingdisasters (Roberts, 2002). Some of these fishing vessels had under-gone recent modifications that were of detriment to their stabilityand general safety. There is also evidence from case series of marineinvestigations that this is a problem on the increase (MAIB, 2002,2005), although it may partly reflect improvements over time in theinvestigation and documentation of marine accidents. Poor mainte-nance of fishing vessels has been identified as a major causal factor

of fatalities in the UK and non-UK fishing industries (Driscoll et al.,1994; MAIB, 2002, 2005).

Shooting and hauling operations of trawling and fishing gearare the most hazardous operations that fishermen undertake ona frequent basis, particularly when carried out in adverse weather

48 S.E. Roberts / Accident Analysis and Prevention 42 (2010) 44–49

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ig. 2. Fatal accident rates for the 30 most hazardous occupations in Great Britain002–2005 rather than the 10 years from 1996–2005. This is because of incompatibiliorizontal bars represent 95% confidence intervals. All occupations refer to reside

eafarers which refer to the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and N Ireland) fishing and

onditions. Without adequately maintained equipment, safety pro-edures and safety awareness, they can lead frequently to fishermeneing struck by heavy gear or ropes, falling overboard or becomingntangled in the gear and dragged overboard or into the winch.n the UK fishing industry from 1996 to 2005, they led to 45% of allatal personal accidents that occurred at sea. Some of these fatalitiesccurred when the operations were conducted during hazardouseather and sea state conditions, although many were lone fish-

rmen operating in relatively calm seas, further highlighting theazards associated with lone fishing.

The vast majority (86%) of fatal accidents in the UK fishing indus-ry from 1996 to 2005 were caused by drowning. Some of theseeaths would have been prevented if personal flotation devicespfds) had been worn. The use of pfds has been shown to be effectiven improving the survival prospects of fisherman who go overboard

NIOSH, 1994; Lincoln and Conway, 1999). Concerns about the non-se of pfds – which have been linked to cultural attitudes towardsafety among fishermen – continue to be widespread in interna-ional fishing (Roberts, 2004; Driscoll et al., 1994; NIOSH, 1994;

AIB, 2002; Mitchell et al., 2001).

–2005. Notes. *Fatal accident rates for these occupations refer to the 4 years fromeen the SOC-2000 and SOC-1990 occupational classifications for these occupations.

f Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) except for fishermen and merchanthant shipping industries.

When compared with foreign fishing industries, the fatal acci-dent rate in UK fishing is quite high and, unlike those in otherfleets, such as those of Alaska (Schnitzer et al., 1993; Lincoln andConway, 1999), Australia (Driscoll et al., 1994; Mitchell et al., 2001;O’Connor and O’Connor, 2006), Iceland (Petursdottir et al., 2007),Norway (Hansen et al., 1986; Aasjord, 2006) and Poland (Jareminet al., 1997; Jaremin and Kotulak, 2004), it has not fallen in recentyears. For example, when comparing the UK fatal accident rate withthose from the most recent published studies for non-UK nationalfleets during the last 30 years, the UK rate of 102 per 100,000 (or115 when including uncertain accidents for improved compara-bility) is higher than rates of 17–86 per 100,000 reported for theAustralian (O’Connor and O’Connor, 2006), Canadian (Hasselbackand Neutel, 1990), Norwegian (Aasjord, 2006), Polish (Jaremin andKotulak, 2004) and US fishing industries (NIOSH, 1994). It is similar

to rates of 100–116 per 100,000 reported for the Alaskan (Lincolnand Conway, 1999), Danish (Laursen et al., 2008), French (Chauvinand Le Bouar, 2007) and Swedish fishing (Törner et al., 1995), but itis lower than 260 per 100,000 in New Zealand fishing (Norrish andCryer, 1990).

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S.E. Roberts / Accident Analys

. Conclusion

This study shows that commercial fishing is by far the most haz-rdous occupation in the UK. The continuing lack of improvementn the fatal accident rate contrasts with almost all other occupa-ions and industries in the UK and continues to be a major concern.he elevated relative risk of a fatal accident in the fishing indus-ry, when compared with the general workforce, has continued toncrease sharply. As well as the natural weather-related hazards,he main reasons for the lack of improvement include increasesver time in the hazardous practice of lone fishing, non-use of pfds,nd increases in deaths from unstable, unseaworthy or badly main-ained fishing vessels in the UK fishing industry. These areas needo be addressed if the fatal accident rate in the fishing industry iso become more comparable with other occupations.

onflict of interest

None declared.

cknowledgements

The author is grateful to the Marine Accident Investigationranch for providing access to narrative and electronic accident

nvestigation data, and in particular Cathy Pennock and Audreyodges for extensive advice, the Registry of Shipping and Seamen

or providing access to their paper death inquiry files and deathegisters, and Ruth M. Ripley (Department of Statistics, Universityf Oxford) for help with adjusting confidence intervals for multipleatalities arising through the same accident.

Funding: This work was supported by funding from the Mar-time and Coastguard Agency [Grant: RP578]. The views expressedn this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those ofhe funding body. The funding body had no role in the study design;ollection, analysis and interpretation of study data; writing of theeport and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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