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Vol 5., No. 5, May 2004
Contents
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THOUGHTS & QUOTES
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"Be Aware! Be Alert!
Be Alive"...
...is the signature slogan or video sign-off phrase
that I have used since I started working with safety. Be
aware of the equipment you are working with and be
alert to your surroundings. This isn't confined to just
agriculturally related safety, but it applies to personal safety
for each and every one of us. I was in the Atlanta airport last
week awaiting my flight back to Gainesville, and I couldn't help
but think about all the people who were busily engaged in conversations
on their cell phones. This puts people, in a sense, 'somewhere
else instead of where they really are.' I haven't found any
statistics about this, but I can't help but wonder about the
number of victims of criminals -- such as pick pockets, purse
snatchers, and even car jackers -- who may have been talking
on their cell phone at the time of the incident, and who were
not aware and alert in the present time and place. Thieves will
go for the easiest target -- and someone not paying any attention
to what is going on around them is certainly an easy mark.
In late November, a 22-year-old
college girl was abducted as she left the Grand Forks, ND mall
in the early evening and walked to her car. She was talking to
her boyfriend on her phone and the last thing he heard her say
was "Oh my god," followed by her phone going dead.
Her body was finally found last month. Perhaps a quick glance
around the parking lot in the dusky conditions could have revealed
something not quite right! I couldn't help but think about this
again as I was at the mall one morning recently. When I went
to place a purchase in the trunk of my car, I noticed a car driving
suspiciously in the parking lot. I took a more circular route
to the car -- so that there were cars between myself and the
driver. It may have been just a coincidence, but I have found
that when the 'sixth sense' kicks in -- I should listen to it.
Several years ago, when my
kids were about 8-10, we were having ice cream at a local ice
cream store (another quirky habit I have is that I have to sit
facing the door). I noticed a man walking from across the street.
He looked like he didn't know exactly what he was doing or where
he was going. He came into the store and looked around . When
someone walks into an ice cream store, they usually have a definite
purpose in mind, however, this person did not appear focused
on ice cream. I told the kids, 'we're going,' in a tone of voice
that was not to be questioned. The man also left the store and
soon disappeared. We found out later that recently there had
been several robberies in that area of town. There's no telling
if we would have been victims, but there's no sense in waiting
around to find out!
Just a reminder to be aware
and alert to your surroundings -- especially in the laid-back
days of summer, vacations and travel.
P.S. I'm not against cell phones
-- obviously, they can be used in many positive ways.
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Funding Opportunity
for Small Businesses
The Department of Health and
Human Services has released an RFA, the goal of which is "to
further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT)
Products for the health and safety training of hazardous materials
(HAZMAT) workers, emergency responders, and skilled support personnel."
This funding opportunity for
small businesses opened up on May 12, 2004. Letters of intent
are due on July 26, 2004.
For more information: <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-04-004.html>
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Call before You Dig
April was designated as "Call
before You Dig" month across the country. The Florida Governor's
Proclamation and more information can be found at:
<http://alachuapost.com/Home/2352.html>
Call before you dig and avoid
damaging underground structures and incurring possible hefty
fines.
People need to understand the
four simple steps designed to promote safe digging:
1. In Florida, call (800) 432-4770*
two full business days before digging.
2. Wait for utility companies to locate and mark their buried
utilities with color-coded paint, flags or stakes.
3. Protect the marks during excavation.
4. Dig safely using extreme caution when digging within 24-inches
of the locate marks.
*NOTE: The number will vary
from state to state -- check the front of your phone book or
do a web search [your state call before you dig].
Florida's One Call web site
is: <http://www.callsunshine.com/corp/>.
Why promote safe digging?
1. The "Underground Facility
Damage Prevention and Safety Act," Chapter
556, Florida Statutes, states it is law to follow the four steps
outlined
above.
2. Construction and excavation
activities, both by professional
excavators and homeowners, are the largest single cause of damage
to
underground utilities. Unsafe digging practices can result in
minor service
outages, personal injury or death when gas or electric lines
are involved, as well as
environmental damage and costly repairs.
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Keep
Your Horses Safe from Strangers
An article in the March 2004
issue of Progressive Farmer Magazine has excellent tips for horseowners.
The following tips can help prevent your horse from being stolen
or help law enforcement to identify them at sale points.
- Use permanent identification
-- common methods include freeze branding, lip tattoos, or microchips.
- Keep current photos -- take
pictures of both sides and head and tail end with no saddle,
blanket, or rider. Take close-ups of unique markings or brands.
- Maintain a proof-of-ownership
file - including registration, bill of sale, brand descriptions,
a photo of you with your animal, and any other significant documentation.
- Make it harder for someone
to get to your horse - build barns and corrals away from the
road; use sturdy fences and keep perimeter gates locked.
- Make it harder to steal pastured
horses -- don't leave halters hanging nearby; don't feed the
horses close to the gates or to the road as this makes them easily
accessible by someone who offers them food. Check your horses
at varying times and don't make it visibly clear when you are
gone for a period of time.
- Prevent theft of trailers
and tack by keeping them locked up if possible. Keep VIN or serial
numbers on file.
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The Lone Worker
Often in landscaping, traditional
farming or horticulture work working alone is not by choice but
rather, because there is no other reasonable alternative when
seasons are short, days are long and assistance is scarce. Many
tasks performed are inherently designed to be performed alone
such as using landscaping equipment or tractor operations for
example. This publication provides information for making conditions
safer for employees or others who have to work alone.
<http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001601-d001700/d001655/d001655.html>
This more general publication
and risk assessment for lone workers was published by the Health
and Safety Executive in England. It contains practical information
that you may find useful:
<http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1074426698>
Note that this site's reference
to regulations apply in England and may not necessarily apply
here (but I found it very helpful and could not find a similar
U.S. publication).
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Kids
Programs for Dealing with Disaster
The Red Cross has developed
the program Facing Fear, <http://www.tallytown.com/redcross/facingfear.html>,
targeted for helping young people deal with terrorism and other
tragic events.
The Masters of Disaster program
<http://www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/>
is a school-based curriculum that educates students about hazards
that cause injury, death, and damage in the United States. The
American Red Cross, with generous support of the Allstate Foundation,
<http://www.allstate.com/foundation>,
has developed a curriculum that not only teaches students about
disaster safety, but helps teachers meet their required objectives
as well! Teachers have a lot to cover to meet the learning objectives
prescribed by their school system. That's why the Masters of
Disaster curriculum was developed -- to help teachers integrate
important disaster safety instruction into their regular core
subjects such as language arts, math, science, and social studies.
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Carbon
Monoxide & Boating & Other Open-Air Operations
Just a reminder that there
have been deaths related to carbon monoxide (CO) from open air
exposure to motorboats. We usually limit our thinking about CO
as a deadly hazard to indoor or confined spaces. However, it
can also be a problem outdoors. Some deaths that were thought
to be simple drownings are now believed to have been caused when
an individual was overcome by CO and then fell into the water.
An excellent fact sheet/brochure
from the U.S. Coast Guard can be found at:
<http://www.boatingsidekicks.com/cobro/cobrochure.htm>
Descriptions of some of the
cases that have occurred are in this publication at:
<http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/thelistbystate8.pdf>.
Some tractor operators have
been exposed to CO due to damaged exhaust systems. For a description
of one such case, see:
<http://www.kiprc.uky.edu/abstracts/poster07.html>
There have also been exposures
to people riding on transplanters behind the tractor's exhaust.
For a complete description
of the hazards of carbon monoxide gas, visit:
<http://www.nutramed.com/environment/monoxide.htm>
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June
is National Safety Month
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June is National Safety
Month: <http://www.nsc.org/nsm/index.cfm>.
The theme of this year's National Safety Month is "Crash-Free
June." The focus of "Crash-Free June" is drawing
attention to specific types of behaviors that cause motor vehicle
crashes. Visit this site for more factual information and resources.
June is not too early for safety
reminders when using fireworks:
<http://www.fireworksafety.com/>.
This site contains psa's, fact
sheets, and other useful information.
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Free
Safety Workshops for Small Businesses
Creating A Safety Culture:
Strategies for Small Businesses
is a one-day workshop by the National Safety Council and OSHA.
Workshop fees are paid for by a grant from OSHA. Workshops in
FL-GA-AL area are scheduled for Ft. Lauderdale, June 16; Birmingham,
July 28; and Atlanta, September 8. More information and locations
and dates around the country are at: <http://www.nsc.org/train/harwood2004.cfm>.
The objective of the workshop is to make safety the shared value
of every employee. Put safety behind every strategy, every decision,
every operation, every action. And watch your business thrive!
If you’re a small business
owner, employer, manager or employee, your attendance at this
program will help you to:
- Recognize management’s
role in leading and implementing a safety culture.
- Involve employees in recognizing
and identifying hazards in your organization.
- Use measurement tools to quantify
the effectiveness of your safety culture.
- Use continuous improvement
to evaluate and improve your safety efforts.
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Hurricane
Preparedness for Marine Interests
Marella Crane, Miami-Dade County,
Florida Sea Grant developed a Hurricane Manual for Marine Interests.
The 19-page manual can be found at:
<http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/seagrant.htm>.
June 1 is the official start
of hurricane season, and those living in coastal areas may want
to take the time to look this over.
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Human
Deaths Due to Injection of Livestock Medicines
NIOSH has asked that we spread
the word to livestock producers about deaths that have resulted
when humans have been injected with Micotil. A NIOSH Fatality
Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) report about a death
that happened in Nebraska last year can be found at: <http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ne/03ne004.html>.
There have been at least two other fatalities -- one less than
a month ago in South Dakota. The publication contains recommendations
to insure that one does not get injected with animal medicines.
Even if using non-toxic medicines, it certainly still poses a
hazard to a person being injected with doses appropriate for
large animals.
In the Nebraska situation,
a 38-year-old cattleman died as a result of an injection of an
animal antibiotic known as Micotil, which has no known antidote.
On March 8, 2003, the victim was preparing to vaccinate a heifer
inside a barn. He was carrying a 12cc plastic disposable syringe
in his right hand when a cow that was in an adjacent pen charged
him, striking the fence between the two. The victim was knocked
to the ground. Either when struck or from the fall, he was injected
with an unknown amount of the antibiotic. He immediately began
to feel dizzy and nauseous. He was able to return to the “vet
room” inside the barn and call his wife, who was nearby
in the house. An ambulance was called and the victim was rushed
to a nearby hospital where he died less than an hour later.
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Managing
Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism
The National Rural Behavioral
Health Center has produced an updated version of the publication
Triumph over Tragedy: A Community Response to Managing
Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism.
Designed and written as an
educational tool, each section of the Triumph Over Tragedy handbook
is organized as a series of informational summaries that can
be easily photocopied and used for presentations and public or
professional education programs. Topics include: Individual and
communitywide stress and other public reactions after disaster,
terrorism, and bioterrorism.
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Special features of the
second edition are:
- Issues for a wide audience
including disaster recovery planners, community leaders, first
responders, Extension professionals, health and mental health
professionals, and other community stakeholders.
- Rural areas, community needs
in the immediate wake of disaster, helping individuals, and long-term
recovery.
- Issues specific to behavioral
health and community response to bioterrorism.
- The most recent research on
the prevention and treatment of stress reactions after critical
events.
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Click on image to order. |
Read more about the new Triumph
over Tragedy at the National Rural Behavioral Health
Center Website: <www.nrbhc.org>.
Copies of Triumph over
Tragedy have been distributed to every county Extension
office in Florida and to every state Extension office in the
country. Order a copy of your own at the NRBHC Web site for $28.95
(covers duplication and shipping expenses).
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SAFETY NEWS
& NOTES is
an e-mail newsletter prepared by Carol J. Lehtola, Extension
Agricultural Safety Specialist and team leader for the Prevention
and Preparedness: Agricultural Safety & Disaster Management
program. 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
contact Dr. Lehtola. If you know someone interested in receiving
this newsletter, we will gladly add them to the e-mail list.
Past issues of Safety News & Notes are archived on the Florida AgSafe Web site.
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
Extension Disaster Education
Network: http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden
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