Most of the articles in SafetyXChange talk about health and safety in a factory or industrial setting. So I asked Glenn Demby if he would let me discuss safety in agriculture to give SafetyXChange members an appreciation of the risks that farmers face every day. He agreed.

The Agricultural Setting

I work for the City of Columbia in Missouri. For many of the City's employees, farming is a way of life. Some of my colleagues come from a farming background; others farm as a hobby to make money; and others have members of the family who farm.

Farmers are jacks-of-all trades - small business managers, accountants, heavy equipment operators, veterinarians and agronomists. In a typical day, a farmer may spend the morning mending a fence and the afternoon giving livestock antibiotic shots. And, of course, each activity creates its own risks. So farmers have to be safety-minded. Here are three of the biggest hazards they face.

Agricultural Hazards: Machinery

According to the CDC, agriculture continues to be the leading industry for occupational fatalities and injuries in Missouri. One of the most hazardous activities is operating a tractor and implements. Tractor rollover is the leading cause of farm-worker fatalities, followed by incidents involving farm machinery.

Example: On August 9, 2004, a 76-year-old dairy farm owner was fatally injured when he was pulling a trailer loaded with large round hay bales. He started driving the tractor trailer combination down a sloping farm lane when the heavy load started pushing the tractor down the hill. The trailer and hay bales weighed approximately 8,000 pounds. The tractor weighed approximately 4,500 pounds. The owner hit the brakes. But only the left wheel locked. Consequently, the tractor slid to the left, overturned and rotated 180 degrees before finally coming to rest on top of the farm owner, crushing him to death. The medical examiner listed the cause of death as cervical spine fracture. After an investigation, the following recommendations were given by the New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation:

• Tractor/trailer combinations should be properly matched to endure safe towing operation;
• Rollover protective structures (ROPS) and seatbelts should be installed on all agricultural tractors; and
• Tractor brakes should be routinely inspected and maintained for uniform operation. (The brake pedals were locked together so equal braking pressure should have been applied to both wheels instead of just the left side.)

Agricultural Hazards: Chemicals

Farmers handle a host of dangerous chemicals including pesticides and herbicides. Medicating livestock is a common practice among farmers and one whose hazards are often overlooked.

Example: A 38-year-old cattleman died as a result of an accidental self-injection of an antibiotic known as Micotil® on March 8, 2003. The cattleman was going to vaccinate a heifer inside a barn when a cow in an adjacent pen charged him, hitting a fence between the two and knocking the cattleman to the ground. As a result, he accidentally injected himself with an unknown amount of the antibiotic. Micotil® has no known antidote. The cattleman was able to call his wife inside the "vet room" before losing consciousness; she called an ambulance that transported him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later. The death certificate listed the cause of death as respiratory failure as a due to cardiac arrest as a consequence of lethal injection.

This case, which comes from a NIOSH Nebraska Case Report, shows how important it is to practice safe handling procedures when applying any syringe-loaded medication and to be familiar with the hazards associated with any type of chemical or medication.

Agricultural Hazards: Confined Spaces

Farmers often work in confined spaces. Unfortunately, the results are sometimes fatal.

Example: In July 1989, a 65-year-old dairy farmer, his two sons (37 and 28), a 15-year-old grandson and a 62-year-old nephew all died when they entered a manure waste pit with an oxygen deficient atmosphere. The farmer's younger son had entered the pit to replace a broken shear pin on a manure agitator when he collapsed. The others tried to rescue him and they too were overcome. The farmer's 8 year-old grandson went to get help from a carpet installer working in the farmhouse; the carpet installer entered the pit and was overcome but, luckily, did not lose consciousness. He was assisted from the pit by his helper. They were able to retrieve the victims with a rope with a hook, but all five died. The medical examiners listed the cause of death for all of the victims as asphyxiation due to methane gas exposure.

The NIOSH Division of Safety Research offered the following recommendations:

• This manure pit should have been identified as a confined space (limited entry or egress, not meant for continuous human occupancy, and large enough for someone to perform work);
• Equipment should be designed to enable maintenance outside the pit;
• Ventilation should be installed in these types of pits;
• Pit entrance should be covered; and
• Farm employees should be trained in the identification and hazards associated with confined spaces.

Conclusion

Of course, these are just a few of the hazards that agricultural workers face on the job. There are plenty of others that I don't have time to describe. I hope I have fulfilled my mission of giving those of you who may not be familiar with agricultural operations a sense of just how dangerous farming is. Thank you.

BY THE NUMBERS

Tractor rollovers: Leading cause of farm fatalities

Agricultural Safety

By Glenn Demby

Here again is the short piece about the occupational dangers of agriculture that inspired George to send me this instructive article.

• 2.25 Million - The number of full-time U.S. workers employed in agriculture.  That number rises to 4.5 million if you count unpaid farm workers and family members age 14 and older
• 132 - The number of U.S. farmers crushed to death in tractor rollovers each year
• 100 - The number of children killed in agricultural accidents each year
• 100,000 - The number of children injured in agricultural accidents each year
• 500 - The number of U.S. agricultural workers who suffer disabling injuries each day.  Of these, 5% result in permanent impairment
• Agricultural workers are also about 4 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries than are workers in general industry

Source: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

FARM INJURY FACTS

Sound advice: Farming remains one of America’s deadliest industries

From the National Safety Council

Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States.
Mechanical, chemical and environmental hazards may increase the risk of accident for agricultural workers. Most farm and ranch accidents are preventable.

Over 700 farmers and ranchers die in work-related accidents yearly.
Many of these injuries occur when farm tractors roll over on the operator and its passengers. Another 120,000 agricultural workers suffer disabling injuries from work-related accidents.

Farm and ranch women are among those at risk in work-related accidents.
Their involvement with livestock and farm equipment puts them at greater risk to work injuries. Power Take-Offs (PTOs) and the moving parts associated with some farm equipment may entangle loose clothing or catch long hair.

Senior farmers are at increased risk from farm accidents and injuries.
Farmers no longer retire at age 65 - many farm well into their 70's. Senior farmers often take prescribed medications, work with physical disabilities, and/or suffer from hearing loss. All these factors may increase senior farmers' risk for work-related injuries and death.

Children are at special risk from farm-related accidents. Most of the 200 - plus deaths among children on farms result from being innocent bystanders or passengers on farm equipment. Surveys indicate that many farm children are working in dangerous environments by the age of 10.

Famers are not using life-saving rollover seat belts. Only half of the farm tractors used on U.S. farms are equipped with life-saving rollover protective structures (ROP's) with seat belts. Many farm tractors were manufactured prior to the voluntary installation of ROP's with seat belts, while some newer tractors have had their ROPs removed by the owner.

Farmers are not taking advantage of injury-preventing safety equipment. Farm safety audits indicate that many of the farm tractors being used daily do not have safety equipment which could prevent injuries and save lives. Bypass starter covers, PTO master shields and slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblems are missing on many tractors.

Emergency medical care is not readily accessible to farmers and ranchers. The isolated nature of farms and ranches in our nation's rural areas creates difficult conditions for emergency medical service providers. Farmers and ranchers often work alone and may become entrapped, entangled or disabled for precious hours before they receive medical attention.

Source: National Safety Council

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