Category: Agriculture
Can Workplace Exposures Increase Risks of Birth Defects? – Epidemiology in Action
Epidemiology is the art and science of using data to answer questions about the health of groups. In occupational epidemiology, we use that data to understand how work affects health. This blog entry is part of a series that shares the stories behind the data. Pregnant and breastfeeding women get a lot of advice from Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsSafety and Health for Immigrant Workers
The United States workforce, like the population in general, is becoming more ethnically diverse. “We are and always will be a nation of immigrants,” President Obama stated recently in announcing his initiative on immigration reform. The Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project estimates that immigrants will make up roughly 23% of adults of working Read More >
Posted on by 23 CommentsNIOSH Celebrates National Farm Safety and Health Week
September 21-27, 2014, is National Farm Safety and Health Week. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) marks this year’s theme, Safety Counts: Protecting What Matters, by announcing the new Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing directory page. The new page provides a one-stop entry to all of NIOSH’s agriculture, forestry and fishing resources, making Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsPreventing Skin Cancer
As the nation’s doctor, I recently launched a Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer to address the rising rates of skin cancer in the U.S. While nearly 5 million people are treated for skin cancer each year in the U.S., with an annual cost of $8.1 billion, most cases are preventable. Although people with Read More >
Posted on by 35 CommentsThe National Tractor Safety Coalition: Taking a new systems-approach to a well-known problem
The agriculture industry is widely recognized for its high work-related fatal injury rates, which are estimated to be 20.2 deaths per 100,000 workers (compared to 3.2 per 100,000 workers for all workers).[i] Tractor overturns are the most frequent cause of farm fatalities, yet they can be readily addressed with the presence of a roll-bar and Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsAdjusting to Work in the Heat: Why Acclimatization Matters
Acclimatization is important in keeping your workforce safe and well as temperatures rise. This natural adaptation to the heat takes time, and from a management perspective, it may require careful planning. Make acclimatization part of your plan A good heat illness prevention plan takes into account the need for more breaks, a cool place to Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsCoccidioidomycosis: An Enduring Work-Related Disease
Background Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, is a disease caused by the fungus Coccidioides. The fungus grows in the soil in very dry areas. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic (native and common) in the southwestern United States, the Central Valley of California, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America [CDC 2013a]. About 150,000 new infections Read More >
Posted on by 10 CommentsWorld Cancer Day – Cancer Detectives in the Workplace
Today is World Cancer Day. Around the world, 12.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year, and the number is expected to increase due to the growth and aging of the population, as well as reductions in childhood mortality and deaths from infectious diseases in developing countries (ACS 2011). Cancer is the leading cause Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsPreventing Deaths in Manure Storage Facilities Through Proper Ventilation
On farms, manure storage facilities are used to store animal waste, which can then be used for fertilizer. Farmers or farm workers may need to enter the facilities to repair or maintain equipment, such as pumps and intake hoses. These confined spaces are often oxygen-deficient atmospheres and can contain toxic and/or explosive gases that create Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsLadder Safety: There’s an App for That
NIOSH recently released its first smart phone application (app) for mobile devices. This free app is aimed at improving extension ladder safety by providing real-time safety information delivered via the latest technology. Falls are a persistent source of injury in many occupations and in home use. Falls are the number one cause of construction-worker fatalities Read More >
Posted on by 45 CommentsThe Importance of Occupational Safety and Health: Making for a “Super” Workplace
There’s just something about superhero movie summer releases that gets us here at NIOSH excited about safety. This summer the source of our inspiration came from the Man of Steel© movie. In the film, pre-Superman Clark Kent is working as a commercial fisherman (a hazardous job if you’re not a man of steel). He risks Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsHow Does Work Affect the Health of the U.S. Population? Free Data from the 2010 NHIS-OHS Provides the Answers
You may have some hypotheses about how work affects the health of the U.S. population, but collecting data from a nationally representative sample is expensive and time-consuming. What if there was free data available at your fingertips? You’re in luck! NIOSH sponsored an Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsNIOSH HPD Well-Fit™: The Future is Fit-Testing
Today is Save Your Hearing Day. For workers and others who are exposed to dangerously loud noises which cannot be reduced or eliminated, hearing protection devices (HPDs) are absolutely necessary to save their hearing. But if HPDs are not properly selected or correctly worn, the devices may not block out enough noise and the wearer Read More >
Posted on by 13 CommentsCost-effective Rollover Protective Structure (CROPS)
Despite a decades-long effort to raise awareness about the importance of roll over protective structures (ROPS) in preventing injury and death from tractor roll overs, tractor overturns continue to be the leading cause of occupational agricultural death in the United States. While all tractors produced since 1986 come with ROPS as standard equipment, farm tractors Read More >
Posted on by 15 CommentsWork-Related Amputations: Who’s Counting?
Knowing how many, who and where injuries or disease are occurring is a basic premise of preventing injuries and illnesses. If we don’t have accurate information on injury/illness occurrence, we don’t know how many resources to devote, what action(s) to take or whether the action we do take is effective. New findings from Michigan State Read More >
Posted on by 11 CommentsEl trabajo con vehículos todo-terreno
This blog post is also available in English Durante los últimos treinta años, los vehículos todo-terreno (VTT) se han vuelto cada vez más populares a nivel recreativo y se han convertido en una herramienta importante en el trabajo. Con unos 11 millones en uso en el 2010, tanto en actividades laborales como recreativas, los VTT Read More >
Posted on by 27 CommentsAll-terrain Vehicles and Work
Over the past 30 years, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have grown increasingly popular recreationally and have become a valuable asset at work. With an estimated 11 million in use in 2010 for both work and recreation, ATVs have become a common means of transportation. ATVs were first manufactured in the late 1960s as farm-to-town vehicles for Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsEven a Dummy Knows October is Protect Your Hearing Month
Meet Nick. Nick is a training mannequin who helps NIOSH teach young people and their families about preventing noise-induced hearing loss. Hearing loss can result from working around noise–even non-powered hand tools–without wearing proper hearing protection. It is not uncommon for a 25 year-old farmer or carpenter to have the hearing of a 50 year-old. Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsCommercial Fishing Safety
Commercial fishing is the most dangerous occupation in the U.S., with an annual fatality rate that is almost 36 times higher than the fatality rate for the average U.S. worker. An emphasis on understanding the commercial fishing culture and the rugged work environment coupled with quality science has helped NIOSH create practical prevention recommendations that are now commonly used in the industry and are saving lives. Read More >
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