The Rural Voice, 1982-04, Page 12Have safety on your mind
by Adrian Vos
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HOW MANY HAZARDS
CAN YOU FIND ?
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471
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The first thing that comes to mind
when thinking of farm safety is a tractor
rolling over and crushing the operator
beneath it. But a recent program on
"Country Canada" brought home the
insidious effects of dust and gases from
intensive Jivestock enterprises.
Chronic bronchitis is not usually
connected with farming, as even farmers
cling to the illusion that they get all the
fresh air they can handle. But farmers are
in second place in the incidence of chronic
lung ailments, exceeded only by chemical
workers. As a matter of fact, no other
industry would accept the level of dust
and gases in livestock barns. But because
of the special difficulties of farming, this
industry is exempted from health laws
PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/APRIL 1982
applying to the manufacturing industry
until special legislation can be worked
out.
Any farmer who smokes knows that it
is impossible to smoke for some time
after having worked in a poultry or hog
barn.
Hog farmers know that rhinitis, the
disease destroying the turbinates inside a
hog's nose, becomes more troublesome
where there is insufficient ventilation.
The advice? Wear cloth masks. They
are cheap and readily available. But this
helps only against dust.
It is not well known but dust swirling in
the air is a potent explosive with more
force than TNT. If the barn is dusty
during feed -making or cleaning, don't
Tight up and don't switch lights on or off.
1
Another problem not always recog-
nized is the effect of noise, not just from
tractors but also from pigs squealing at
feeding time. Those ear muffs used on
the tractor can also be used to prevent
slow, accumulative hearing impairment.
But most visible accidents involve
tractors, and too often small children. A
five-year old was killed last year when it
was thought he was safe in the front-end
loader, operated by the father, while a
crew picked stones. When the father
looked back for just a moment, the child
climbed out of the bucket and was
crushed under the tractor wheels. Ever
thought how many seconds it takes to
travel the four feet needed for the wheels
to reach there?
The big problem is that everybody