Staying Safe in an Agriculture Workplace

1
Staying Safe in an Agriculture Workplace

• David W. Smith
• Farm Safety Programs
• Texas Cooperative Extension
• Texas AM University System

2
What makes agriculture work dangerous?

• Environment
• Personal factors
• Work activities
• Social, economic and political factors

3
Environmental Factors

• Weather
• Work sites overlap with residence, office
• Delayed response of emergency service
• Isolation from others
• Difficult to maintain good personal hygiene
• Hazards and exposures not monitored (noise,
  vibration, lighting, dusts, etc.)

4
Personal Factors

• Young children frequently exposed to hazards
  beyond their understanding
• Senior workers continue working despite physical
  limitations
• Work sometimes pushes physical limitations
• Routine medical surveillance uncommon

5
Work Activity Factors

• Long work hours
• Erratic work pace
• Irregular work routine
• Trade learned by observation and experience
• Work activities dependent on uncertainty of
  weather

6
Social, Political, and Economic Factors

• Day care often not an option
• Absence of health and safety regulations
• Long-held cultural belief that little can be done
  to improve safety
• Safety attitude stems from culture and outcome of
  experience performing dangerous activities

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Who is at risk of injury?

• Co-workers
• Visitors
• Family members
• Subcontractors
• Farm animals and wildlife

8
What are the dangers?

• Tractors
• Machinery and implements
• Livestock
• Electricity
• Chemicals
• Fires

• Ponds and open water bodies
• Sun exposure
• Material storage facilities
• Manure pits
• ATVs

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Tractor Hazards

• Overturns
• Runover incidents
• Highway accidents
• Falls
• Contact with other objects

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Tractor Overturns

• Accounts for over half of all tractor fatalities
• Occurs when the tractors center of gravity falls
  outside of its base of stability
• Includes both side and rear rollovers

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Physics of Tractor Stability
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Side Overturn
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Rear Overturn
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Preventing Tractor Overturn Injury

• Drive at appropriate speeds
• Lock brake pedals together when on highway
• Set wheel tread as wide as possible
• Stay away from steep slopes

• Dont drive on soft shoulders
• Keep front-end loader loads low to the ground
• Drive forward down hills and back up hills
• Equip tractor with rollover protection and wear
  seatbelt

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Tractor Runovers

• Major Causes of Runover Accidents
• Bypassing the ignition switch to start tractor
• Failure to set parking brake on slope
• Falling or jumping off of tractor
• Failure to acknowledge bystanders

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Preventing Runover Accidents

• Only start tractor while sitting in the seat
• Dont disable safety switches
• Place guard on starter terminals to prohibit
  bypassing
• Always set parking brake before dismounting
• Look for bystanders before starting tractor

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Tractor Highway Accidents

• Most tractor accidents occur
• During planting and harvesting seasons
• Between 3 pm and 6 pm
• Where posted speed limits are greater than 50 mph
• Most caused because of excessive speed of other
  vehicles

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Safe Operation on Highways

• Make sure the tractor is safe to drive (steering,
  brakes, etc.)
• Make tractor visible to other drivers (SMV
  emblem, flashers, lights)
• Drive at controllable speeds
• Stay off of soft shoulders

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Machinery and Implement Hazards

• PTO and drive shaft entanglement
• Contact with rotating parts
• Pull-in injuries
• Crushing injuries
• Electrocution

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PTO Entanglements

• Usually occurs when clothing, hair or jewelry
  gets caught on bolt of drive shaft
• Results in multiple, severe injury, loss of limb,
  strangulation, and/or death
• PTOs turn from 540 to 1000 revolutions per minute

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PTO Safety

• Replace all damaged or missing PTO shields and
  drive shaft covers
• Wear tight-fitted clothing
• Put up hair
• Remove all jewelry
• Dont climb over or under drive shafts

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Other Machinery Hazards

• Shear and cut points
• Pinch points
• Wrap points
• Crush points
• Free-wheeling points
• Pull-in points
• Springs and chains
• Hydraulic systems

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Machinery Safety

• Dont wear loose clothing around moving parts
• Never reach over or work near rotating parts
• Turn off machinery before performing maintenance
• Never rely solely upon a machines hydraulic
  system to keep equipment suspended

• Replace all missing and damage shields
• Never place yourself between a tractor and
  implements when hitching
• Never crawl under a machine or implement without
  first chocking or blocking
• Never allow anyone near a chain when it is under
  stress

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Livestock Hazards

• Crushing injuries
• Property damage
• Diseases
• Parasites

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Livestock Considerations

• Vision
• Cattle have near-360-degree panoramic vision
• Horses and swine have near-300-degree field of
  vision
• Hearing
• More sensitive than humans
• Loud noises frightening
• High-frequency sounds painful.

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Livestock Considerations

• Temperament
• Each animal has its own personality
• Become uncomfortable when personal space is
  threatened
• Routine is calming
• Instinct
• Females become aggressive when offspring are
  threatened
• Males aggressive when herd threatened and during
  mating period

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Livestock Diseases and Parasites

• Brucellosis
• Tetanus
• Ringworm
• Salmonella
• Leptospirosis
• Rabies
• Trichinosis
• Lyme Disease

• Keep vaccinations current
• Wear boot coverings when on other farms
• Isolate sick animals from the herd
• Keep children and visitors away from sick
  animals

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Livestock Safety

• Maintain a non-threatening distance
• Use a calm voice and deliberate movement
• Dont startle the animal
• Never prod an animal that has nowhere to go
• Dont be abusive
• Stay away from newborns

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Electricity Hazards

• Contact with overhead transmission lines
• Absence of proper grounding
• Overloaded circuits
• Damaged wiring
• Missing safety shields
• Center pivot irrigation systems
• Pond pumps

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Contact with Power Lines

• Many workers have been electrocuted when moving
  irrigation pipe (20 feet sections) and contact
  overhead power lines
• Workers also electrocuted when moving grain
  augers and when contacting power lines with front
  end loaders

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Electrical System Maintenance

• Can you identify any problems?
• Metal electricity water protection
  grounding an accident waiting to happen

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Extension Cords

• Dont use extension cords in wet areas
• Dont try to repair them, replace them
• Dont use them to tie or secure objects
• Never run over cords with vehicles
• Unplug cords from outlets when not in use

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Chemical Hazards

• Pesticides/herbicides
• Anhydrous ammonia
• Water well contamination
• Fertilizers
• Animal medicines

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Spraying Chemicals

• Read and follow chemical material safety data
  sheets (MSDS)
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment
• Follow label instructions for mixing and cleanup
• Warn others of your intent to spray
• Have an emergency plan in place

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Anhydrous Ammonia

• Used as a fertilizer in agriculture and a coolant
  in food processing
• Stored as a liquid under pressure
• Will freeze-burn skin upon contact
• Vapors will burn skin, eyes, and can be fatal at
  high concentrations

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Anhydrous Ammonia Theft

• Key component in production of methamphetamines
• Often stolen from temporary storage tanks located
  on farms and dealerships
• Usually stolen in small quantities, multiple
  times, to avoid detection

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Fire Hazards

• Fueling and fuel storage
• Electrical problems
• Heaters
• Dry, dusty confinement areas
• Hay storage
• Machinery
• Welders and torches

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Fueling and Fuel Storage

• Store fuel tanks at least 40 feet from buildings
  and barns
• Ground storage tanks in case of direct lightning
  strikes
• Never fuel a hot tractor or vehicle
• Post no-smoking signs that are clearly visible
• Erect barriers around tanks to prevent vehicles
  from running into them

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Hay Baling and Stacking

• Allow cut hay to dry sufficiently before baling
• Uncured hay will increase cause temperature to
  increase in bales or hay stacks resulting in
  spontaneous combustion
• Provide adequate ventilation around hay stacks to
  avoid overheating
• Keep hay stacks at least 100 feet from buildings
  and dont park tractors near stacks

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Tractor Fires

• Oil, grease, dirty rags, and trash on machinery
  can result in devastation.
• Be sure to grease and oil machinery on a regular
  basis.

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Material Storage Hazards

• Engulfment
• Asphyxiation
• Suffocation
• Falls from elevated surfaces
• Contact with conveyance machinery

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Grain Bin Engulfment

• Grain inside a bin can form a crust on top, that
  when broken can engulf a person in a matter of
  seconds
• Never enter a grain bin without proper lifeline
  support
• Always let coworkers know when you must enter a
  grain bin

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Asphyxiation

• Stored silage will release toxic gases during the
  drying process
• Opening the top of a silo from the top could
  result in asphyxiation and cause you to fall
• Always wear proper respiratory equipment

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Other Dangers

• ATVs
• Ponds
• Irrigation canals
• Uncapped wells
• Sun exposure
• Heat
• Snakes, spiders, bees, etc.

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ATV Safety

• Never carry extra riders on an ATV not designed
  for passengers
• Attend an ATV rider safety course
• Know the limitation of the ATV
• Always wear a helmet, long pants, gloves, and
  riding boots

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Ponds and Open Water

• Never swim in an irrigation canal or unfamiliar
  pond
• Post no-swimming signs
• Install a safety post with rope and flotation
  device at the edge of ponds

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Sun Protection

• Wear a wide-brimmed hat and long sleeve shirt
• Wear sunscreen
• Drink plenty of water
• Perform difficult tasks in the morning or evening

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Things that bite, sting, and cause rashes
Rattlesnake
Yellow jacket
Black widow
Mosquito
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For more information on these topics visit the
Agricultural Safety and Health web site _at_

• http//agsafety.tamu.edu