Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health最新文献

This study applied a text string search algorithm to ascertain suspect farm tractor or agricultural machinery-related injuries in data sources available for 2000-2014 in the state of Arkansas. The occurrences of tractor or other agricultural machinery-related injuries were compared with data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). For death certificates that assigned an external cause of death, the authors first collected all those that were coded as related to agricultural machinery, based on search strings for occupation and industry and a description of how the injury occurred. They then inspected each case individually and removed those that were likely unrelated to agricultural machinery. This approach significantly increased (by 7.8 times) the number of suspect agricultural machinery-related fatalities compared to the number reported to CFOI, but there was only a 17% (not statistically significant) increase compared to NCHS. All hospital records with any discharge diagnosis coded as related to agricultural machinery were selected. Descriptive analysis of the fatalities and hospital records showed a significantly increased risk among men above retirement age, peaks during the summer, and an increased risk in the Mississippi delta region. About one-third of the agricultural machinery-related fatalities were due to overturns. The use of the algorithm can improve ascertainment of fatal agricultural machinery-related injuries in Arkansas. The death records were found to be rich in data on the circumstances of the injuries, which can be used to screen for tractor-related fatalities and, if confirmed, translated into action to improve the safety of Arkansas farmers.

A program was developed to educate young drivers about laws and guidelines governing farm equipment on public roadways in Tennessee. The goal of the program was to make young drivers aware of their responsibilities and the responsibilities of farm equipment drivers when sharing public roadways. A presentation was developed outlining the topics and was accompanied by identical pre- and post-surveys. The material was presented to drivers' education classes and agriculture science classes at several high schools in west and middle Tennessee. A total of 365 students between the ages of 13 and 19 participated in the program. The pre- and post-survey scores were used to determine the effectiveness of the program. The average score of the pre-survey for all participants was 66.0%. This score significantly improved to 89.3% for the post-survey (p 0.0001 for paired t-test). Based on these scores, the students were able to gain a better understanding of the laws and guidelines in Tennessee concerning farm equipment on public roadways.

This study examined the effectiveness of engineering controls to reduce contaminant concentrations in a swine farrowing room during winter in the U.S. Midwest. Over two winters, changes in air quality were evaluated following installation of a 1700 m3 h-1 (1000 cfm) recirculating ventilation system to provide 5.4 air exchanges per hour. This system incorporated one of two readily available dust control systems, one based on filtration and the other on cyclonic treatment. A second treatment evaluated reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with replacement of standard, unvented gas-fired heaters with new vented heaters, installed between the two winter test periods. The concentrations of carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide were negligible in the test room. Although concentrations of ammonia increased over each winter test period, the increase was unrelated to increased air movement from the new recirculating ventilation system. The dust concentrations were significantly reduced by the ventilation system for both inhalable dust (23% to 44% with filtration, 33% with cyclone) and respirable dust (32% with filtration, 20% with cyclone), significant (p 0.024) for all except respirable dust using the cyclone (p = 0.141). The filtration unit is recommended to improve livestock building air quality because it was more effective than the cyclone unit at reducing respirable dust. Carbon dioxide concentrations were significantly lower with vented heaters (mean = 1400 ppm, SD = 330 ppm) compared to unvented heaters (mean = 2480 ppm, SD = 160 ppm). A 940 ppm reduction in CO2 was attributed to the use of the vented heater, after accounting for differences in outdoor temperatures and animal housing over both test periods. The benefits of readily available technology to significantly reduce concentrations of dust and CO2 demonstrates useful control options to improve air quality in swine buildings.

Direct-reading gas monitors warn workers of the risk of potentially fatal hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposures that may arise during manure handling. Low-cost, low-maintenance H2S monitors are available from many manufacturers, but differences in their features and performance make selection challenging for farmers. Moreover, little information is available on the practical maintenance and performance of these devices in agricultural environments. The objective of this study was to provide information to agricultural workers to aid in the selection, maintenance, and use of low-cost H2S monitors. This laboratory study evaluated the performance of several low-cost monitors over a simulated period of use of one year in a swine barn. Four models were exposed to H2S concentrations of 1 to 10 ppm over 18 weeks to examine the drift in reported concentration and changes in the alarm reaction time. Over the simulated barn year, the performance of alarm-only monitors declined faster than that of monitors displaying the H2S concentration. Of concern was the high-level (20 ppm) alarm failures after an equivalent of 139 days (Altair) and 289 days (BW Clip) in a swine barn, well within the monitor's reported shelf-life. Models displaying concentration exhibited fewer failures but were inaccurate in the displayed concentration when challenged with 20 ppm of H2S. The T40 Rattler provided consistently higher readings (+2.3 ppm), and the Pac 3500 showed consistently lower readings (-3.4 ppm) when challenged with 20 ppm. This study confirms the need for routine bump tests for these low-cost monitors to ensure that the monitor reacts to the presence of H2S, even if the manufacturer does not recommend this procedure. Most importantly, agricultural workers should inspect and bump test these monitors prior to any potentially high-risk activity, such as manure agitation, pumping, or pressure washing, to ensure that the monitor appropriately detects and warns users.

Power take-off (PTO) is a common method of transferring power from a tractor to a towed piece of machinery. The PTO is also a well-documented cause of severe and often permanent disabling injuries to farm operators. The physical conditions that cause entanglements are not well established. Several studies have explored the parameters of PTO entanglements as materials have been drawn across a rotating PTO knuckle to test for entanglement probability. The objective of this study was to determine probability of entanglement when materials are dropped vertically onto a PTO knuckle spinning at 540 rpm. A total of 360 randomized trials were conducted with ten replications for each of the six positions (center of yoke, edge of yoke rotating downward, edge of yoke rotating upward, center of cross, edge of cross rotating downward, and edge of cross rotating upward) and six different materials (woven cotton athletic shoe lace, cotton workboot lace, leather workboot lace, cotton twine, denim strip, and Tyvek strip). Not a single entanglement was recorded. Dramatic high-speed video imagery authenticated the material's motion and path as it interacted with the rotating PTO knuckle.

This study concerned the ability of operators of tractors and other self-propelled agricultural machinery to visually recognize objects and/or hazards within close proximity to the rear of those machines and/or any implements in tow, especially when backing up. It was hypothesized that the data collected would identify the factors affecting rearward visibility and help determine the effectiveness of two backup-assisting devices (i.e., mirrors and camera systems) in enhancing the operator's ability to observe objects or hazards. The study's experimental design involved the following: (1) selecting nine self-propelled machines for testing (five tractors of varying sizes, a combine, a sprayer, a skid steer loader, and a UTV); (2) laying out a five cell by five cell test grid behind each machine, with an indicator pole centered in each cell; (3) positioning the mirrors (exterior/interior) and camera system (camera and display monitor) for maximum visibility; and (4) collecting images from a 50th percentile male operator's eye midpoint position. The findings were recorded graphically onto a master grid for the backup-assisting devices (both individually and in combination) on each machine. Analysis of the results confirmed that various issues related to the machines impact the effectiveness of mirrors and camera systems in enhancing rearward visibility. Among them are the operator station's design and configuration, seat adjustability, optional accessories, exterior lighting, type of implement in tow, hitching method, and highway transport mode. These findings led to recommendations relative to each of the mirrors and camera systems, as well as observations of operator interactions with accessories and perceived effects on the operator's ability to view obstructed areas in close proximity to the machinery.

Workplace injuries in the grain handling industry are common, yet little research has characterized worker injuries in grain elevators across all hazard types. Learning from past injuries is essential for preventing future occurrences, but the lack of injury information for the grain handling industry hinders this effort. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by using data from over 7000 workers' compensation claims reported from 2008 to 2016 by commercial grain handling facilities in the U.S. to characterize injury costs and severity. The total amount paid for each claim was used as a measure of injury severity. The effects of employee age and tenure, cause of injury, and body part injured on the cost of work-related injuries were investigated. Contingency tables were used to classify the variable pairs. The chi-square test and chi-square residuals were employed to evaluate the relationship between the variable pairs and identify the at-risk groups. Results showed that the employee age and tenure, cause of injury, and body part injured have a significant influence on the cost paid for the claim. Several at-risk groups were identified as a result of the analyses. Findings from the study will assist commercial grain elevators in the development of targeted safety interventions and assist grain elevator safety managers in mitigating financial and social losses from occupational injuries.

Keeping workers safe is a continuing challenge in agricultural production. Risk assessment methodologies have been used widely in other industries to better understand systems and enhance decision making, yet their use in production agriculture has been limited. This article describes the considerations and the approach taken to measure the difference in worker injury risks between two agricultural production systems. A model was developed specifically for the comparison of worker injury risk between corn and biofuel switchgrass production systems. The model is composed of injury and exposure values that were used in a Monte Carlo simulation. The output of this risk assessment shows that approximately 99% of the values from the Monte Carlo simulation rank corn production as a greater worker injury risk than biofuel switchgrass production. Furthermore, the greatest contributing factors for each production system were identified as harvest, and that finding aligns with current literature.