Henry P. Cole

Toward a Typology of Dynamic and Hazardous Work Environments

The most hazardous work environments share one feature in common: constant change. Many different, but constantly changing hazards are found in agriculture, construction, mining, and transport. This dynamic feature of workplace hazards varies by: (1) degree of control, (2) predictability, (3) visibility, (4) movement, and (5) degree of speed and force. In some cases the actions of the dynamic hazards are required for production to take place, and in many cases, several different hazards may overlap and interact. Finally, whether intentional or unintentional, some dynamic hazards are human generated. These are some of the features that distinguish dynamic and hazardous work environments across a variety of industries. The authors propose a preliminary typology of dynamic and hazardous work environments, along with a schema to systematically observe the dynamic characteristics of these hazards. The implications of this typology are considered with respect to worker training, hazard awareness, and safe work practices. For example, the implementation of the Hierarchy of Control is shown to require active worker involvement at every level in the hierarchy, except where an environmental hazard has been completely eliminated.

Frequency and Severity of Injuries to Operators During Overturns of Farm Tractors

Previous estimates of operator death from farm tractor overturn events range from 0.03 to 0.68. This study provided population-based estimates of the denominator of total farm tractor overturns and the frequency of six classes of overturn injury outcomes for tractors with and without rollover protective structures (ROPS). A 40-item telephone survey collected information from a random sample of 6,063 (8.0%) Kentucky farms about each farms most recent overturn. A total of 551 (9.1%) farms reported overturns, and 5,512 (90.1%) reported no overturns. Injury outcomes for 443 overturns of non-ROPS tractors and 89 ROPS tractors were distributed as follows: no or minor injury (non-ROPS: 70.43%; ROPS: 82.02%), outpatient treatment (non-ROPS: 21.90%; ROPS: 9.00%), hospital admission (non-ROPS: 15.35%; ROPS: 3.37%), temporary disability (non-ROPS: 13.54%; ROPS: 14.61%), permanent disability (non-ROPS: 3.16%; ROPS: 0.00%), and death (non-ROPS: 5.42%; ROPS: 1.12%). (Percents total to more than 100 because some operators treated as outpatients were subsequently hospitalized, disabled, or died.) The observed 0.054 probability of death from overturn of non-ROPS tractors in this sample was corrected for the proportion of farms that went out of business prior to the survey and thus were excluded from the sampling frame. The adjusted 0.08 probability of death from overturn of a non-ROPS tractor is five times smaller than the NIOSH estimate of 0.40. The discrepancy lies in the much larger denominator of all non-fatal and fatal overturns than assumed previously.

Stories to Live By

An injury prevention research program supported by funding from the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) resulted in the development, evaluation, and dissemination of approximately 70 narrative-based simulation exercises for mining industry workers in the United States (Catalog of training products, 1993). More than 400,000 copies of the mining exercises have been used in the United States, and additional copies are used in four other countries (Cole, 1993; Cole et al., 1993). Additional funding from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Office of Surface Mining, the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, and NIOSH produced interactive-narrative exercises for firefighters, mine reclamation inspectors, hazardous-waste workers, health care providers, and farm family adult and youth workers.

The Process of Chore Teaching: Implications for Farm Youth Injury

&NA; This study explored parental views regarding suitable chores for farm youth, the process used in chore teaching, and the relationship between what parents teach about safety and the youths application of knowledge gained from teaching. Twenty‐three parents and 40 children participated in focus groups. Chore teaching consisted of parental appraisal of child readiness, child interest, safety rules, chore initiation, chore phasing, and chore modification. Parents allowed children to perform high‐risk chores when economically pushed or the available labor supply was inadequate. For safety behavior to be taught and role modeled by parents, the economic consequences of injury must be stressed.

Cost effectiveness of wearing head protection on all-terrain vehicles

ABSTRACT The use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) has increased in the United States and elsewhere over the last three decades, along with an increased frequency of incidents resulting in serious injuries, among which have been head injuries. ATVs are designed for motorized off-highway work and recreation, can weigh up to 600 lbs (272 kg), and may reach speeds as high as 75 mph (120 km/h). ATV crashes, including collisions and overturns, were responsible for 8104 fatalities from 1982 to 2006. One third of those killed were youth under 16 years of age. Helmets may reduce risk of death by 42% and nonfatal injury by 64%. In this study, a decision analysis was applied to determine the potential reduction in the rate of fatal and nonfatal head injuries associated with crashes, based upon the universal wearing of head protection while riding on ATVs. In addition, based upon this reduction in injury rate, a cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted to determine the savings per injury averted among ATV riders with head protection. The authors found that 238 head injuries, including 2 fatalities per 100,000 ATV drivers with an average of 145 hours of annual operation, could be averted by the universal wearing of head protection while riding on ATVs. Taking into account the social direct and indirect costs of fatal and nonfatal head injuries at a 5% discount rate, US

Injury severity related to overturn characteristics of tractors

364,306 could be saved per injury averted over a 50-year period if there were universal wearing of head protection by ATV drivers. If the exposure is adjusted to 2000 hours per year for an equivalent work year, 3276 head injuries could be averted including 23 fatalities per 100,000 at a social cost savings of US

Projected Incidence and Cost of Tractor Overturn-Related Injuries in the United States

509,172.

Seatbelt use during tractor overturns.

INTRODUCTION Early studies of injuries associated with overturns indicate that more fatalities occurred when a tractor overturned beyond 90 degrees (continuous roll) relative to the impact plane. Recently, the principle of preventing continuous rolls has re-emerged for the protection of riding lawnmower operators. METHOD Related to tractors, a population-based study was conducted that compared the severity of fatal and nonfatal injuries between a 90 degrees and continuous roll for tractors equipped with rollover protective structures (ROPS) and not equipped with a ROPS (non- ROPS). In 2002, the Kentucky Farm Tractor Overturn Survey was administered to an 8% random sample (6,063) of Kentucky farm operators. The farmers responded to questions that differentiated between the types of overturns and operator injury outcomes for ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors during overturn events. Overturn characteristics were collected that included 90 degrees to the side, beyond 90 degrees to the side, and to the rear for both ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors. RESULTS Of the 541 overturns reported in this study, 535 (99%) of the respondents reported the most recent overturn characteristics of the tractor: 92 (17%) were ROPS-equipped and 443 (83%) were non-ROPS. For side overturns, 67% of the rolls occurred with ROPS-equipped tractors, and 54% occurred with non-ROPS tractors. The percentages of deaths related to rolls to the side for ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors were, respectively, 1.6% and 3.7%. There was one (2%) deaths related to 90 degrees rolls for ROPS-equipped tractors, whereas for continuous rolls there were 6.4% fatalities related to side overturns, 13% resulted in non-fatal injuries with an average of 1 day of hospitalization for ROPS-equipped tractors, and 39% resulted in non-fatal injuries with an average of 18 days of hospitalization for non-ROPS tractors. The results from this study indicated that a ROPS was more effective at stopping an overturn at 90 degrees than no ROPS, with an associated reduction in the severity of injury in the event of a tractor overturn.

Cost-Effectiveness of a ROPS Retrofit Education Campaign

In 2004, the Agricultural Safety and Health Centers, supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, launched an initiative to conduct research on the consequences of and approaches to control of agricultural tractor-related injuries. The most significant cause of fatal injuries is associated with tractor overturns, and a recognized intervention to control these injuries is equipping the tractor with a rollover protective structure (ROPS). The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of tractor-related fatal and nonfatal injuries and their social costs. Based upon the annual average incidence of 125 tractor-overturn-related fatalities in the U.S. for the period 1992 to 2002, an analysis was conducted of injuries over the 25-year period 1997 to 2021. Using the number of fatalities as an index value, the analysis found that in 1997, there were a total of 2,412 tractor overturns. These overturns were associated with 125 deaths and 573 nonfatal injuries requiring at least outpatient treatment. Compared to ROPS-equipped tractors, 123 (98.6%) deaths and 543 (95%) of nonfatal injuries were associated with non-ROPS tractor overturns. The undiscounted social cost of these injuries totaled

Older farmers' prevalence, capital, health, age-related limitations, and adaptations

1.5 billion in 2006 dollars for the 25-year period when using cost factors for the agricultural population. When discounted at 3%, this total was