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News Release USDL: 96-398
Monday, September 23, 1996
Contact: Frank Kane (202) 219-8151
Publications Office: (202) 219-4667

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) strongly supports Farm Safety Week, Sept. 21-27.

"Year after year, agriculture continues to rank as one of the most hazardous occupations, with 775 deaths and 100,000 injuries and illnesses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Joseph A. Dear. "There are certain steps that farmers and their families can take to abate the hazards that are causing these deaths, injuries and illnesses."

• Make sure that your farm tractor has a rollover protective structure and that you use seat belts while the tractor is in operation.

• Make sure that your machinery has guards. Unplug the machinery before unclogging or servicing it, and make sure that guards are replaced after maintenance.

• Review material safety data sheets and labels that come with chemical products and communicate information concerning hazards to your workers.

• Conduct periodic safety checks in and around buildings and lots and remove or protect hazardous materials. Not only is a well-maintained place safer, it also makes work easier.

• Take necessary precautions to avoid entrapment and suffocation caused by unstable surfaces of grain storage bins, silos or hoppers.

• Be aware that methane gas, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide can be present in unventilated grain silos and manure pits in quantities sufficient to cause asphyxiation or explosion.

A safer, more healthful workplace provides such benefits as lower worker compensation premiums and medical costs, increased production, and improved morale.

A single free copy of an OSHA Program Highlight on Farm Safety may be obtained by sending a self-addressed label to the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA/OSHA Publications, P.O. Box 37535 Washington, DC 20013-7535. Telephone (202) 219-4667, fax (202) 219-9266.