Vol 8., No. 5, May 2007

 Contents

 

THOUGHTS & QUOTES

…..here’s your 'Round-Tuit’ so no more excuses!
While the kids are home from school, you might want to think about taking a closer look for hazards and then implement a plan to do something about them. In the introductory session for my ag safety class, students are assigned an area of the University of Florida campus and given time to hunt for hazards. They are usually amazed at things they have walked past many times without a thought which they now recognize as potential situations for injury.  

Just recognizing a hazard is not enough, however. It is easy to think that someone else is responsible for seeing that corrections are made -- family members may assume Mom or Dad will do it; employees may assume that managers and supervisors are going to take care of it. Everyone is responsible for safety -- If you see it, say something about it. Often a hazard may be left lying around simply because ...nobody knew to throw it away!

My students learn that in order for corrections to get done, a safety checklist needs a minimum of four things:

1) Identify the hazard,
2) Describe what needs to be done to correct the problem,
3) Set a target date for getting the correction done, and
4) Identify who is responsible for seeing that it gets done.

 

For more information on 'hunting for hazards' refer to the IMBY (In My Backyard) Hazard Identification booklet and download the IMBY Workbook.

You have now been provided with "a round tuit", put on your SAFE-T-KAP* and start getting rid of those hazards!

 *Safety Awareness For Everyone - Through - Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice.

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Biosecurity for the Birds USDA–APHIS Exotic Newcastle Disease Campaign

In October 2002, an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) was confirmed in the State of California. The disease quickly spread to the neighboring states of Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. This outbreak was the largest animal disease outbreak in the United States in 30 years. It took 10 months to eradicate the disease at a cost of $180 million. Four million birds were depopulated—while the majority came from commercial operations many came from backyard flocks and bird enthusiasts.

To prevent another disease outbreak of this magnitude, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Veterinary Services (VS) is working with individual states on an emergency national disease surveillance program aimed at non-commercial poultry and bird owners. The message is very specific: report sick birds to an animal health professional and practice biosecurity.

All materials are at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/birdbiosecurity/index.html

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Lightning Safety Week, June 24-30

The theme for this year’s Lightning Safety Week is “when lightning roars, go indoors”. Lightning safety fact sheets and other information is available at these two sites:

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Keep the Kids Safe Over the Summer

Summer is a time that is high in kid-related injuries. Safe Kids Worldwide has released a report studying child deaths during summer. Florida ranked 34th in the nation. The informative report along with child safety information and reminders for summertime are at the Safe Kids Worldwide Web site. The following paragraph is taken from their report and highlights the leading causes of deaths.

“Previous Safe Kids Worldwide research indicates that five of the most common causes of children’s accidental [unintentional!] injury deaths in summer are:

  • Drowning (increases 89 percent in the summer over the annual monthly average)
  • Biking (increases 45 percent)
  • Falls (increases 21 percent)
  • Motor vehicle passenger injuries (increases 20 percent)
  • Pedestrian injuries (increases 16 percent).

In fact, almost 60 percent of total children’s accidental injury deaths from May to August from 2001 to 2004 came from these risk areas. The report also demonstrates a 17.6 percent drop in children’s accidental injury deaths in summer across the nation (comparing data from 1997–1999 to 2002–2004), yet children’s accidental injury deaths continue to spike in the summer.”

Safety Tips when visiting amusement parks are provided in a recent report from the National Safety Council. On the last page of the report, you will find "Tips for Visiting an Amusement Park or Attraction."

Youth workers in agriculture requirements are summarized in the Mar/Apr 2007 issue of Penn State’s Ag Safety and Health Newsletter.

More information is available at The Department of Labor “Youth Rules” informational site (not just agriculture-related).

For children or youth engaged in farm-related tasks, use the North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks.

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Equipment Safety for Landscaping and Horticultural Services

Training materials for the Landscaping and Horticultural Services Industry have been produced by Kansas State Univeristy Extension. Topics include skid steer loaders, lift trucks, tractors, chipper shredders, tree trimmers, and mowing and trimming. Presentations include Power Point slides. These can be downloaded from KSU Ag Safety Web site. They are in English and Spanish.

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Safety During Silage Handling

"It's Dangerous in Those Bunkers," an article for safety when working with bunker-style silos, was recently published in the March/April 2007 issue of Penn State’s Agricultural Safety and Health News. Included are pictures of potential hazardous situations when working around silage piles.

"Silo Gas Dangers" discusses the hazards of silo gas (nitrogen dioxide). Exposure to nitrogen dioxide can also occur when working with pressed-bag type silos. A worker was injured from exposure when opening a pressed-bag shortly after filling it.

Silo Safety is an Ohio State University tail-gate training fact sheet (to use with employees). This includes reminders about the respiratory issues. Available in English and Spanish.

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Rabies Reminder

Now that summer is here, people are sepnding more time outdoors, and reminders about rabies may be helpful. Recently, two men near Gainesville, Florida were attacked by a fox in their front yard. For a fox to act in such a manner indicates a high likelihood of rabies, and this was later confirmed. The following sites provide information about this deadly disease. Included is information about rabies in Florida and a map showing which counties have had cases this year.

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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.