Vol 4., No. 5, September 2003

Contents

National Farm Safety and Health Week is September 21-27.
The theme is "Secure Your Farming Future Through Safety and Health" and fact sheets are online at: <http://www.nsc.org/farmsafe.htm>.


THOUGHTS & QUOTES

I was encouraged last week when I received two notes from former students. One told about his safety class term project now being implemented in their county-wide school system! The other told about her experience in keeping a bad situation from getting worse. This person had taken the safety class this summer. She was visiting her sister and what she was cooking in the oven caught on fire. She said that her sister freaked and did not know what to do. But Kelli was able to grab the fire extinguisher and "because of what she had learned in our lab (a lab where they actually have to use a fire extinguisher) she was able to calmly do the proper thing!" She further stated that she got the fire out and that the firefighters were impressed and wanted to know where she had learned the proper technique!! :-) Needless to say this prevented major damage to an apartment complex.

The proper use of the fire extinguisher can be thought of as PASS.

  • Pull the pin
  • Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
  • Squeeze the trigger
  • Sweep the area of the fire

It is also important to keep the fire extinguisher held upright. If you cannot get the fire out with one extinguisher it is too large to deal with.

"All You Ever Wanted to Know About Fire Extinguishers" is at:
<http://www.hanford.gov/fire/safety/extingrs.htm>.

Since October is National Fire Safety Month, I also cannot stress enough the importance of not leaving food cooking on the stove top when leaving the room! Too many fires start as a result of food burning on the stove. We tend to think "...it'll only take a second!" We are just taking the garbage out to the garage, or just answering the phone! But then you see the neighbor and start a conversation or the phone call takes your mind off what is on the stove!

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OCTOBER IN NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY MONTH

October is National Fire Safety month with October 5-11 being designated as Fire Prevention Week.

Keep fire safety in mind! Prevention is key! An excellent fact sheet covering basic tips for fire safety is at: <http://www.att.com/ehs/safety/fire_safety.html>.

The FEMA Web site has an interactive kid's page -- this could be used as a
family activity. <http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/>.

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FIRE SAFETY JEOPARDY QUESTIONS

The following is copied from the Safety Jeopardy Activity that I use.
These questions relate to fire safety. Feel free to use them in your
newsletters etc.

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES
(Fire safety)

Option A (use with 100-500)

100: What item should be in the home to alert people of a fire? [Smoke detector with a working battery!]

200: If a home has any heat source that uses combustible fuels (wood, gas, etc.), what item should be installed to worn of the 'silent killer'?
[Carbon monoxide detector]

300: Putting a lid on a pan that is on fire from cooking puts out the fire by removing which leg of the fire triangle? [Oxygen]

400: An example of the principle, "the more finely divided a substance is,
the more rapidly it absorbs heat" is? [Dust explosion, e.g., grain dust]

500: What needs to be considered when fire departments are called to fires
in rural areas? [Water source and access to remote areas]

Option B (can be used with 100-500 or 200-1000)

200: Identify two of the three things necessary for a fire. [Oxygen, heat source, and fuel]

400: Vapors of a fuel (ex. LPG, gasoline) that are heavier than air will be
found where? [Along the ground or lowest level]

600: Why is it important to know the lowest temperature at which a
flammable liquid will give off vapors? [It is the lowest temperature at which it can ignite]

800: What is recommended to do when changing the clocks in the spring and the fall? [Check and/or change the battery in your smoke detector]

1000: The proper procedure for using a fire extinguisher is known as PASS.
Which is? [Pull the pin; Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire; Squeeze the trigger; Sweep the area of the fire]

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STATIC ELECTRICITY CAN BE DEADLY

The following is excerpted from an article by Lisa Foust Prater in the August 2003 issue of Successful Farming Magazine:

"Farmers are bombarded with warnings about avoiding loose clothing around augers, keeping kids away from machinery, and being cautious when working in grain bins. But there's another danger out there, one that is as preventable as it is deadly: static electricity. The same type of spark that builds up when sliding across the floor in stocking feet can also cause gasoline containers and vehicles to ignite.

"I (Lisa Foust Prater) never thought about the serious threat that static electricity poses until my cousin, Wayne Foust, was severely burned (and subsequently died) last summer.

"Wayne was mowing and needed gas. He parked his riding mower in the driveway between his car and pickup, reached over the side of his pickup bed, and pulled a gas container toward him. When the plastic can slid across the plastic bedliner, static electricity built up. If he would have placed the can on the ground, the static would have discharged.

"When he tipped the container to fill the tank, it exploded on the spot taking two vehicles, the mower, and my cousin with it."

The complete article along with safety tips from the Petroleum Equipment
Institute are at: <http://www.agriculture.com/sfonline/sf/2003/august/static.html>

A printable poster with the safety tips is at: <http://www.agriculture.com/downloads/static.pdf>

NIOSH has a fact sheet that discusses the hazards associated with filling gasoline containers in pick-ups with plastic bed-liners or cars with carpeted areas. These also lead to static electricity build-up. <http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hid2.html>.

A further note on explosions at gas stations -- according to the PEI, there have not been any explosions caused by sparks from cell phones. (Perhaps at issue here is more the potential to not be concentrating on what you are doing and to let the gas run over!!!!) You can check this site for an article about that 'urban legend'!
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/columnists/angela_d_curry/6259041.htm>.

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LIVESTOCK HANDLING TIPS

Source: Easy-Does-It Cattle Handling, Chester Peterson, Jr., Successful
Farming Magazine. (Also included in the July/August Issue of Ag Safety & Health News from Penn State.)

Jerry Stokka, Kansas State University Extension beef veterinarian says, "To work livestock safely, you need to understand animal behavior and recognize signs that tell you an animal feels threatened or is ready to react, perhaps violently."

He says that animals are likely to get more excited over a young child than anything. "Animals view youngsters as potential predators. While it is good experience to let a child assist, never put them in harm's way where an animal can break loose and overreact."

There are three key points to consider concerning livestock facilities: 1) Are they adequate for the type of livestock you are working? 2) Are they in good repair? and 3) Do they require a minimum of persuasion to get the animals worked properly?

Crowding pens should be designed with some type of safety device so that reverse pressure from cattle won't allow the gate to swing back and crush whoever is behind it.

The number one place where injuries occur is around squeeze chutes. Most chutes have a lot of moving parts that slam together rapidly and can cause serious injuries. Be aware of where you are in relation to the arch of these. Use of hard-hats is recommended. There are just too many places to get your head bumped.

For more information on proper design of livestock handling facilities see Temple Grandin's Web site: <http://www.grandin.com/>. There is also ordering information for several books and videos.

[NOTE For Florida Agents -- I do have a video on Beef Cattle Handling. If you want to borrow a copy let me know.]

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SAFETY 'POINTERS' WHEN VACCINATING LARGE ANIMALS

Farm Families Alive & Well,the newsletter of the Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health has a very informative article related to injuries to handlers when they are vaccinating cattle or horses. Most of the injuries are minor, however, there have been cases where death has resulted. The complete article, "Farmers and Ranchers are Typically a Frugal Group" is at: <http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/ICASH/Alive&WellJune03.pdf>.

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BACK ISSUES OF SN&N ARCHIVED ON THE FLORIDA AgSafe WEB SITE

Past issues of Safety News & Notes are available at:

<http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu>

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SAFETY NEWS & NOTES is an e-mail newsletter prepared by Carol J. Lehtola, Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist. Design Team FL 124: Prevention and Preparedness: Agricultural Safety & Disaster Management. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF/IFAS. If you have safety or disaster related questions or ideas that you would like to share with other agents, please let me know. If you know someone interested in receiving this, we will gladly add them to the e-mail list.

BE AWARE!

BE ALERT!

BE ALIVE!

Florida AgSafe Web site: http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu

The Disaster Handbook: http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu

National Agricultural Safety Database: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd

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