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Vol 7., No. 7, July 2006
Contents
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THOUGHTS & QUOTES
“…I knew
exactly what was going to happen and I couldn’t do a darn
thing about it!”
This statement was told to
me by a former student from my ag safety class that I had taught
at Iowa State University. He was recalling an incident where
he overturned his tractor and was able to walk away from it.
He was mowing the roadside ditch and hit a wash-out -– which
he knew was there -– he had mowed around it many times before.
But his mind was on other things, and he forgot about where the
tractor wheel was in relation to the uneven terrain. He noted
that the minute he felt the front wheel go into the hole that
he knew exactly what would happen and that he couldn’t do
anything about it at that point. It happened that fast. What
he was thankful for was the fact that in previous weeks he had
decided to change tractor usage. Instead of using the old chore
tractor for the mowing he would use the newer tractor that did
have a ROPS as part of the cab structure. He had called to tell
me about it and to also mention to keep on with the safety message
-– sometimes it doesn’t sink in right away. As a part
of the TRAC-Safe program that I had pioneered at the University
of Iowa, we had a campaign to encourage people to do something
as simple as using their ROPS-equipped tractor in higher-risk
situations. Happily, the message had finally ‘sunk in,'
and he had decided to do that.
Safety solutions don’t
always have to be high cost –- they may be a matter of looking
at what you already have in a different way.
Thus, in some instances, changing
the tractor's usage patterns can reduce the risk for death due
to overturn. Encourage the use of tractors with ROPS for the
tasks that are at higher risk of overturn. These include working
on slopes, mowing pastures and roadway ditches, and roadway travel.
A Guide to Agricultural Tractor Rollover
Protective Structures (ROPS)
is available on-line from the National Farm Medicine Center.
This includes being able to find a ROPS for a specific make and
model of tractor.
Tractor safety information
is provided in the Safer Tractor Operation series of publications
available on the Florida
AgSafe Web site under "Florida AgSafe Publications."
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Looking Ahead
to Farm Safety and Health Week, September 17-23
National Farm Safety &
Health Week is an annual promotion from the National Safety Council
commemorating the hard work, diligence, and sacrifices of our
nation’s farmers and ranchers. The 2006 event is marked
by the 63rd consecutive signing of a proclamation by a U.S. President,
beginning with Roosevelt in 1944.
This year’s theme is Prepare
to Prevent. Check out the Web site for PSAs for 2006 and
for the logo that can be downloaded in color or black/white.
Currently available are "Prepare to Prevent ATV Injuries"
and "Simple Preparations Can Prevent Childhood Chemical
Poisoning."
The Web site is: http://www.nsc.org/necas/.
Although the presidential proclamation
won’t be available until the 3rd week in September, the
2005 proclamation can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050916-11.html.
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Prevent Child
In-Home Drowning Deaths
Two sisters were playing in
their yard and also looking after their younger brother. When
he went missing, adults found him, but it was too late. He had
been playing in a corner of an out-of-season, ‘dry’
swimming pool. Rain had accumulated in a puddle in a corner,
and there was enough water to claim the little brother’s
life.
Just a reminder that children
can drown in a very small amount of water. The following sites
offer practical advice for preventing infant and toddler drowning.
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Looking for
Safety Slogans?
Need a slogan to remind workers
about safety? These Web sites offer several ideas for slogans.
In the near future the Association of Equipment Manufacturers
(AEM) will be releasing a Web site offering safety pictorials.
These can be used by anyone to customize and make their own safety
posters. More information will be provided when it is available.
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Safer Farmstead
Maintenance
Research indicates 25 percent
of farm fatalities occur while performing non-farming duties,
such as mowing or farmstead maintenance. Mowing hillsides is
a frequent cause of tractor overturns. Rather than using the
old ‘chore’ tractor for mowing, use the tractor that
is equipped with the ROPS. Changing tractor usage patterns to
use the ROPS-equipped tractor in high risk situations is a safety
practice that doesn’t cost additional dollars. (Refer back
to the Thoughts & Quotes section for further
information about ROPS).
Resources
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Stress Influences
Safety Practices
Risk perception and decision-making
under stress can influence our thoughts and behaviors. When working
under stress, people may tend to take short-cuts, get frustrated,
etc., any of which can easily lead to an injury. When working
around powerful machinery, all it takes is a split second for
something to go awry. (See the October
2004 issue of SN&N for examples of what can happen in
a split second!).
Resources
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Disaster
Preparedness for the Elderly
Just in Case is a community education program for
informing and empowering older adults and caregivers to take
some basic, but potentially life-saving, steps to be prepared
in case of an emergency. It complements a fact sheet and checklist
published in cooperation with the U.S. Administration on Aging.
Just in Case may be viewed on-line at www.aginginstride.org.
It is also available as part of a complete kit for community
education and outreach. The Community Education Kit includes
a copy of Just in Case on VHS or DVD, a presenter's
guide, and copy-ready fact sheet and checklist -- everything
you need to reach out to older adults and caregivers in your
community!
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IRS Warns
of E-mail Scam about Tax Refunds
In November 2005, the Internal
Revenue Service issued a consumer alert about an Internet scam
in which consumers receive an e-mail informing them of a tax
refund. The e-mail, which claims to be from the IRS, directs
the consumer to a link that requests personal information, such
as Social Security number and credit card information.
For the complete article by
the IRS see: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=151065,00.html.
Just a reminder that if you
get something that you are wary of, check out its validity by
going to one of several Web sites that deal with urban legends
or hoaxes. One example is Snopes.com.
It is also a good idea to check out forwarded messages discussing
such things as store boycotts or safety issues before forwarding
them on to ’10 of your nearest and dearest!’
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New Book
-- Living on Acreages: What You Need to Know
The Midwest Plan Service at
Iowa State University has announced the release of a new book,
Living on Acreages: What You Need to Know. From
the press release:
Living on Acreages is for everyone thinking of moving
to an acreage or inhabiting one now. It provides a valuable instruction
manual and reference to everything from building and landscaping
in the country to maintaining rural property. Each chapter lists
resources and web sites for additional information, building
plans, and other helps.
Living on Acreages explains how to: Select a rural living
site. Design a homestead that is comfortable, functional, and
adaptable to lifelong needs. Establish or access systems for
water, electricity, mail delivery, sanitation, and sewer, including
septic system design. Adapt to life near farms—from signage
and traffic rules to noise, odors, and dust. Understand effects
of seasonal weather and wind on rural structures. Plan a windbreak
or shelterbelt. Minimize damage by insects and animals. Assure
safety from lightning, fire, wind, winter weather, and crime.
Develop outdoor living areas—including decks, patios, gardens,
and areas for wildlife preservation. Plan and manage a farm pond.
Construct amenities, such as a bus shelter for children. Plan
and build driveways and roadways. Manage outdoor burning and
recycling. Establish a routine preventive maintenance schedule.
And more.
Living on Acreages: What
You Need to Know (MWPS-50,
ISBN 0-89373-103-X) may be ordered from MWPS for $20.00 plus
shipping and handling. Orders may be placed: On-line at www.mwps.org,
by e-mail at mwps@iastate.edu,
by phone at 800-562-3618 or 515-294-4337, by fax at 515-294-9589,
or by writing MWPS, 122 Davidson Hall, Iowa State University,
Ames, IA 50011-3080.
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Recent Safety
Resources
Agricultural Medicine:
Occupational and Environmental Health for the Health Professions by Kelley Donham and Anders Thelin
(2006)
This is the first comprehensive
textbook and reference for students of public health and health
professionals in the field of rural medicine. Agricultural health
and safety engages a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals,
engineers, sociologists, epidemiologists, and psychologists for
whom this book is an overdue yet essential reference. The authors
bring a combined 60 years of practice, research, teaching, and
scholarship in agricultural medicine to the design and content
of this book. Their farm background and ownership add practicality
and relevancy to their presentation. An overview of the industry
and workforce-agricultural production in the global economy,
demographics of the workforce, regulations, statistics, and organizations
targeting agricultural health and safety-provides context for
the broad but thorough coverage of diseases, infectious and toxic
agents, and potential injuries to which agricultural populations
are exposed daily.
Injury Prevention for
Children and Adolescents: Research, Practice, and Advocacy, Karen DeSafey Liller, ed. (2006)
This is a reference for those
concerned with childhood injuries. The book may be used in the
classroom, by health professionals and by parents and community
activists who want to reduce the devastating burden of injuries
on the nation's young people.
Chapters touch on such topics
as costs of injuries and the amount that may be saved through
prevention activities, hazards associated with common nursery
products, injuries at school, and abuse and neglect. Chapter
authors run the gamut from safety standards experts to researchers
to injury prevention activists.
There is a chapter on children
in agriculture.
Articles in the Journal
of Agricultural Safety and Health
are available on-line at: http://asae.frymulti.com/toc.asp.
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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.
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://eden.lsu.edu/
Florida State Agricultural
Response Team (SART): http://www.flsart.org
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