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California Department of Health Services
This
document is available in spanish. (Este documento
está disponible en español.)
This document is a summary of a larger
document in english.
SUMMARY: CASE
192-549-01
A mechanical
cotton picker was stopped in a field. The machine driver and
his foreman were cleaning the machine's spindles. These spindles
pull the cotton off the plant and into the machine. They get
clogged with cotton leaves and twigs. To clean them, spindle
covers must be lifted off the spindles. On top of the machine
are power shafts, running from the engine to the spindles.
The
foreman told the driver to start the cotton picker. The driver
started the machine, but kept it out of gear. This meant that
the spindles were not turning, but the power shafts were.
They noticed a spindle cover was loose. The driver climbed
up on the machine to bolt it down. The driver's sweater sleeve
became caught in one of the turning power shafts. The sleeve
wrapped around the shaft and cut into his arm, almost taking
it off. He spent two weeks in the hospital, and his arm has
permanent nerve and muscle damage.
How
could this injury have been prevented?
- Never
work around unguarded power shafts.
- Fit
equipment with necessary safety devices, including guards
for power shafts.
- Employees
should not be asked to place themselves in dangerous positions.
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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
This
document,
CDHS(COHP)-FI-93-005-27
,
was extracted from a series of the Nurses Using Rural Sentinal
Events (NURSE) project, conducted by the California Occupational
Health Program of the California Department of Health Services,
in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health. Publication date: March 1993.
The NURSE (Nurses Using Rural Sentinel Events) project is
conducted by the California Occupational Health Program
of the California Department of Health Services, in conjunction
with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health. The program's goal is to prevent occupational injuries
associated with agriculture. Injuries are reported by hospitals,
emergency medical services, clinics, medical examiners,
and coroners. Selected cases are followed up by conducting
interviews of injured workers, co-workers, employers, and
others involved in the incident. An on-site safety investigation
is also conducted. These investigations provide detailed
information on the worker, the work environment, and the
potential risk factors resulting in the injury. Each investigation
concludes with specific recommendations designed to prevent
injuries, for the use of employers, workers, and others
concerned about health and safety in agriculture.
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