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University of Minnesota Extension Service
There's
good news and bad on the farm safety front. First the good--statistics
show that agriculture is no longer the nation's most hazardous
industry. From 1985 to 1994, fatality rate estimates published
by the National Safety Council ranked agriculture as the nation's
most hazardous industry. For nearly ten years, the rate of
work-related death in agricultural occupations including farming,
ranching, and commercial fishing surpassed other dangerous
industries such as mining and construction. But, the Safety
Council's 1996 figures show that agriculture dropped to second
place, with a death rate less than half of what it was ten
years ago.
The National
Safety Council's statistics show agriculture with a work-related
death rate of 24 per 100,000 workers, behind mining's 30 per
100,000 and 16 per 100,000 in construction. The figure shown
below illustrates the death rates for various industries.
The agricultural rate translates into a total of 800 workers
killed per year and an estimated 140,000 disabling injuries.
![](aug28-01.gif)
Minnesota
has also done well in the prevention of deadly farming-related
injuries. Figures from the University of Minnesota's Extension
Service show the state experienced a 10-year high number of
fatalities of 47 in 1986. That number had dropped to 24 in
1994, but was back up to 31 in 1995.
![](aug28-02.gif)
Efforts
to improve safety on farms appear to be working over the long
haul, says John Shutske, U of M extension farm safety and
health specialist. "Progress has come about as new technologies
and improved designs have made machinery safer," notes
Shutske. "Educational efforts by extension educators,
teachers, health professionals, agricultural supply businesses,
and rural community leaders have heightened awareness tremendously."
The bad
news is hidden in these figures. "We're still seeing
far too many deaths from tractor runovers and rollovers,"
says Shutske. "Also, the National Safety Council's statistics
do not include children below the age of 14 even though a
considerable proportion of deaths in farm workplaces involve
children below this age."
During
the past ten years in Minnesota, 35 people have been run over
and killed by tractors or by implements such as wagons, mowers,
or tillage equipment. The vast majority of these runovers
were young kids. However, a fairly large number of people
over age 65 get run over by equipment.
![](aug28-03.gif)
The problem
with children riding on and falling off of farm machinery
is not new. "We've spent decades trying to convince parents
and grandparents about the hazards of 'extra riders,' yet
we still see this behavior happening," says Shutske.
"People think, 'That will never happen to my kid.' If
parents could only be with me when I visit farm families and
speak to the parents of young children who were run over and
killed or seriously injured while they were driving the tractor,
they might think twice about allowing kids to ride. It's a
situation that can rip families apart."
By following
the simple rule of NO EXTRA RIDERS, we could dramatically
reduce the number of these needless deaths, says Shutske.
This includes extra riders on the farm, in non-farm workplaces,
county fairs, and farm shows. "Even tractors with cabs
are not totally safe," Shutske points out. "We've
had incidents where young children have fallen out the door
of the tractor cab only to be run over by the crushing weight
of the tractor and a trailing implement."
Here's
a second problem area: tractor rollovers. A modern tractor
usually weighs more than 10 tons. When it rolls over onto
a person the result is usually a death. Even an older model
tractor weighs several thousand pounds, more than enough weight
to cause massive internal damage to a person's body. These
same older model tractors are also the ones most likely to
have a higher center of gravity, a narrow tricycle style front-end,
and most dangerously, no rollover protective structure (ROPS).
"Since our average tractor in Minnesota is over 25 years
old, it is important that we take this issue seriously,"
says Shutske.
The best
way to prevent tractor rollovers is to avoid operating older
model, high risk tractors. "If you have a different machine
that is equipped with rollover protection, it's a much wiser
choice," Shutske points out. "If you have an older
tractor with no ROPS, another option is to purchase an add-on
ROPS from your machinery dealer."
For more
facts about preventing tractor runover and rollover deaths
including information about the availability of ROPS for your
older tractor, contact the Minnesota Extension Service Farm
Safety and Health Program at (612) 624-7444.
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Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not
represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears
by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
Web,DTN,V4MN,V5MN,A4,E4
NAGR5333 Source:
John Shutske, (612) 626-1250, shutske@gaia.bae.umn.edu
Editor: Joseph Kurtz, EDS, (612) 625-3168, pkurtz@mes.umn.edu
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