The workforce risks of a hypothetical one million barrels-per-day oil shale industry were estimated. The risks for the different workforce segments were compared and high risk groups were identified. Accidents and injuries were statistically described by rates for fatalities, for accidents with days lost from work, and for accidents with no days lost from work. Workforce diseases analyzed were cancers, silicosis, puemnoconiosis, chronic bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, and high frequency hearing loss. A comparison of the workforce group under different risk measures was performed. The miners represented the group with the largest fatality and the most serious accident rate, although the estimated rates were below the average industry-wide underground mining experiments. Lung disease from inhalation exposure of about the nuisance dust threshold limit value presents a significant risk for future concerns. If future environmental dust exposure is at the 100 pg/m3 alpha-quartz level, safety improvements is the mining sector are of prime importance to reduce the oil shale worker's life-los expectancy.