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J.A.
Sessions, S.J.
Reynolds, J.A.
Merchant, L. Walkner, and G.
Olson
NIOSH Education and Information Division
The
Flood of 1993 has been called one of the worst natural disasters
in Midwestern history. Unlike normal spring flooding, last
summer's record rains raised rivers, backed up the tributaries
of those rivers, created new ponds in flat areas, and saturated
normally dry farmland. This abnormal weather created an abundance
of health and safety risks to farmers and their families.
Although numerous resources exist that can and do address
problems resulting from flooding, the assistance offered comes
from a confusing array of agencies with differing qualification
requirements. Agricultural safety and health needs have not
been stressed, and have often been overlooked in the flood
relief effort.
To address
these issues, the Farm Flood Response Workshop: Implications
for Agricultural Safety and Health was held at The University
of Iowa on November 8 and 9, 1993. This workshop brought together
representatives from government agencies, farm associations,
agricultural businesses, relief agencies, and academic institutions
from across the Midwest and the nation. The goals of the workshop
were to: (1)Establish communications and coordination between
organizations and agencies involved in flood recovery; (2)Identify
existing recovery resources directed toward farm families;
(3)Identify gaps in existing information and services, and
then develop implementation plans to fill such gaps; (4)Educate
agricultural organizations and businesses about flood-related
safety and health hazards and resources, and enlist their
support in answering specific agricultural needs; and (5)Provide
consistent, coordinated information and resources to help
flood-affected farm families recover. Workshop activities
included technical presentations, a panel discussion, and
individual work group sessions. Three work groups "General
Safety, Environmental Health, and Stress/Mental Health" met
with the objectives of delineating anticipated health risks
and needs, identifying existing resources and gaps in resources,
and proposing specific recommendations for on-going follow-up
activities. Recommendations were refined through a peer-review
process of workshop participants and other selected reviewers,
and through the input of focus groups consisting of farm families
representing flooded areas. Workshop proceedings and recommendations
were disseminated to government, academic, business, and other
organizations and individuals responsible for disaster response.
Other project outcomes include: convening of a follow-up conference
in St. Louis building upon the results of the Iowa Workshop;
development of a central electronic listserve to facilitate
active communication; development of a resource guide; establishment
of a central clearing house for flood information and services;
initiation of research efforts aimed at characterizing environmental
health hazards and prevention/intervention strategies; and
implementation of mental health outreach programs.
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and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
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NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: All from CADIREP, Univ. of Iowa,
Iowa City, IA, except G. Olson who is at Iowa State Univ.
Extension, Mt. Pleasant, IA
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