Agriculture Employee Hazards & Controls
Agricultural Employee Hazards & Controls
Farmworkers are exposed to numerous safety, health, environmental, biological, and respiratory hazards. These include vehicle rollovers, heat exposure, falls, musculoskeletal injuries, hazardous equipment, grain bins, unsanitary conditions, pesticides, and many others.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color="#cccccc" type="normal" thickness="1" up="" down="25px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1461175043141{padding-top: 25px !important;}"]VEHICLE HAZARDS - Injuries from vehicular incidents are serious and debilitating to farm activities.HEAT - Heat-related illness. Workers exposed to hot and humid conditions are at a high risk of heat illness, especially if they are doing heavy work tasks or using bulky protective clothing and equipment. New workers may also be at greater risk than others if they have not built up a tolerance to hot conditions. When working in hot conditions, remember "WATER, REST, SHADE." Drink water every 15 minutes, even when not thirsty. Wear a hat and light-colored clothing. Rest in the shade.
LADDERS & FALLS -Deaths and injuries from falls remain a major hazard for farmworkers.
MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES - Workers in agricultural operations for both crop and animal production typically use repetitive motions in awkward positions and which can cause musculoskeletal injuries.2
HAZARDOUS EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY - Farmworkers routinely use knives, hoes, and other cutting tools; work on ladders; or use machinery in their shops. However, these simple tools can be hazardous and have the potential for causing severe injuries when used or maintained improperly.
GRAIN BINS AND SILOS - Farmworkers are exposed to suffocation or engulfment hazards when working with grain bins and silos, as well as grain dust exposures and explosions.
UNSANITARY CONDITIONS - The lack of drinking water, sanitation facilities and/or handwashing facilities can lead to many health effects. Farmworkers may suffer heat stroke and heat exhaustion from an insufficient intake of potable water, urinary tract infections due to urine retention from inadequate availability of toilets, agrichemical poisoning resulting from lack of handwashing facilities, and infectious and other communicable diseases from microbial and parasitic exposures.
PESTICIDES AND OTHER CHEMICALS - Pesticides pose risks of short- and long- term illness to farmworkers and their families. Pesticides can present a hazard to applicators, to harvesters reentering a sprayed field, to family members due to take-home contamination, and to rural residents via air, ground water and food. Workers may be exposed to pesticides in a variety of ways, including: working in a field where pesticides have recently been applied; breathing in pesticide "drift" from adjoining or nearby fields; working in a pesticide-treated field without appropriate PPE; eating with pesticide-contaminated hands; eating contaminated fruits and vegetables; and eating in a pesticide-contaminated field. Workers may also be exposed to pesticides if they drink from, wash their hands, or bathe in irrigation canals or holding ponds, where pesticides can accumulate.
RESPIRATORY DISTRESS - Respiratory hazards in barns, manure pits, machinery and silos range from acute to chronic air contaminants. Farmworkers' most common respiratory hazards are bio aerosols, such as organic dusts, microorganisms, and endotoxins and chemical toxicants from the breakdown of grain and animal waste.
ZOONOTIC INFECTIONS & RELATED HAZARDS - Zoonosis are infectious diseases common to animals and humans. As new infections evolve, the numbers and types of zoonosis change. More recent types of these infections include avian flu, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and West Nile virus.
NOISE - Farming is among the occupations recognized as having the highest risks for hearing loss.
Confined Space - Besides grain storage, farmworkers face dangers in entering other confined spaces such as:
- Manure pits.
- Flat storage buildings.
- Tanks.
Skin Disorders - Workers in the agricultural sector are at risk of potentially harmful exposures of the skin.
Electrical Hazards - Electrical hazards in agriculture range from the dangers of hitting overhead wires when using large equipment to the possibility of hitting underground wires when digging.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color="#cccccc" type="normal" thickness="1" up="" down="25px"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator color="#b5b5b5" type="normal" thickness="1" up="" down="" el_class="dotted"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator color="#b5b5b5" type="normal" thickness="1" up="" down="" el_class="dotted"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]