Agriculture is one of the nation's most dangerous occupations. North Carolina agricultural workers, like those nationwide, suffer a large share of deaths, injuries, and illnesses compared to workers in other professions. These health hazards not only affect the agricultural workers but also impose an added burden on their families and communities. By providing current information on agricultural safety to our workers, educators, and health professionals, we can improve agricultural productivity and enhance the safety and future of the agricultural industry in North Carolina.

Agriculture plays a vital role in North Carolina. This industry employs 21 percent of our state's workers
(Figure 1 ) and constitutes 29 percent of our economy (Figure 2). To protect the industry and the growers, producers, operators, managers, supervisors, and other workers on our farms and in our agribusinesses, we must place a high priority on providing health and safety information. <!--^ - ^ Total Agribusiness j Employment 21% —n n f n . (Farm Employment 2%) Total Other Employment 79% Figure 1. Agribusiness employment in North Carolina, 1990.(Source:Walden, 1990.) Total Agribusiness 29% (Farm 4.4%) Total Other 71% Figure 2. Agribusiness contribution to North Carolina's economy, 1990. (Source: Wa/den. 7 990.) -->

Often, owners and operators are not familiar with the proper use of agricultural machinery or with effective safety practices. Hired labor is used extensively in agriculture, and many workers are not aware of the potential hazards on a farm. For example, language and cultural barriers may prevent migrant workers from understanding safety measures that should be taken. For whatever reason, a lack of knowledge about agricultural safety can contribute significantly to the high rate of injuries and deaths caused by operating machinery and carrying out other agricultural activities.

More information on agricultural safety is available than ever before. With increasing specialization and use of technology in agriculture comes an increase in the amount of knowledge we must have in order to ensure safety across the many different types of farm operations and farm equipment. North Carolina agriculture is diverse; it includes livestock, crop, greenhouse, nursery, aquaculture, and turfgrass enterprises. Table 1 lists the major commodities that contribute to this diversity. Because these operations are highly varied, each requires specialized safety information.

This publication is the first in a series of fact sheets developed by the Agricultural Health Promotion System. It describes the goals of the AHPS program, the benefits to agriculture that this program provides, and concepts related to agricultural safety. The remaining publications in this series provide information on safety topics and practices that relate to specific areas of agricultural production.

Table 1. Major North Carolina Agricultural Products in 2000
 

(a) Data were taken from North Carolina Turfgrass Survey,1999.

The AHPS Program

To ensure protection against undue risks, agricultural workers need to be fully informed about agricultural health and safety. Through the Agricultural Health Promo- tion System (AHPS), current health-related programs are being expanded to allow agricultural professionals, producers, and workers in North Carolina to become better informed about agricultural health and safety. The purpose of the program is to ensure that all sectors of the agricultural community have access to needed health and safety information from the many sources available. The project not only includes the issues directly related to these groups but also addresses the many concerns affecting related families and communities.

AHPS offers a system to better educate medical professionals, university students, and all agricultural employees on the topics of health and safety. The combined efforts of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, North Carolina State University, East Carolina University School of Medicine, and North Carolina A&T State University help to ensure that this program achieves its objectives.

Goals of the Project

The goals of the AHPS project are:

• to provide an advisory system for agricultural health promotion through the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service,
• to conduct statewide training sessions on agricultural health promotion for farmers and their families through the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service,
• to provide continuing education on agricultural health issues for physicians and other health professionals in North Carolina,
• to create a training program in agricultural health promotion for Cooperative Extension Service agents in North Carolina,
• to incorporate agricultural health promotion materials into the curricula of agricultural programs at North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and the medical education programs at East Carolina University Medical School.

• The AHPS program is implementing the following activities to promote agricultural safety in North Carolina:
• Delivering health promotion programs to agricultural workers and their families on a continuing basis,
• Developing training materials that will be made available to the North Carolina system of higher education,
• Using existing health promotion resources to address current agricultural health issues

The AHPS program is dedicated to helping decrease work-related injuries and illnesses and to promoting safe practices among agricultural workers and their families throughout North Carolina. This program will help promote agricultural safety by:

• educating agricultural workers in how to recognize work-related hazards, thereby helping them to avoid injuries and illnesses,
• helping agricultural and health professionals supply current information on agri- cultural health issues to their clients and patients,
• strengthening the working relationship between health professionals and agricultural professionals,
• combining existing health-related agricultural programs with new health programming in order to better serve the agricultural industry and its workers,
• increasing public awareness of health and safety issues related to agriculture.

Safety and Health Factors

Occupational deaths, injuries, and illnesses are all too frequent on North Carolina farms (Table 2). These incidents affect not only agricultural workers but also their families and communities. In addition, many deaths and injuries unrelated to farm operations occur on the farm. These incidents often involve children, visitors, and other nonworkers.

Table 2. Annual Occupational Death and Injury Projection for North Carolina Farms
 

Sources: Bernhardt and Langley, 1992; North Carolina Department of Labor, 1991.

Injuries result in significant losses to the victim in terms of medical cost and lost work time. A day in the hospital is expensive, as illustrated in Figure 3. These costs may be borne in part by insurance, but they still place a financial burden on the worker's family.

Disabling injuries include both permanent and temporary disabilities that result in lost work time. Additional costs in the form of lost workdays and lost wages add to the burden, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Average Losses Due to Disabling Injuries
 

(a)Assumes 8 hours per lost workday and a pay rate of $5.00 per hour.
Sources: North Carolina Medical Database Commission, 1990; North Carolina Department of Labor, 1991.

However, agricultural safety can be greatly improved by understanding some of the most basic causes of agricultural injuries and illnesses. Major contributors to incidents that result in death, injury, and illness are:

• the improper use of machinery,
• a lack of knowledge about current safety practices,
• the need for specialized safetv information as a result of agricultural diversity,
• the use of temporary or seasonal employees who may be inexperienced or may have a low level of knowledge about farm safety and health practices,
• language barriers faced by migrant farm workers and those who supervise them.

Safety and Health Concepts

Providing and operating a safe agricultural workplace begins with a fundamental understanding of safety and safety management. Generally, when we use the word safety, we mean being relatively free from hazard. It is important to note that there is no such thing as a perfectly safe machine, facility, or operation; some degree of hazard always exists. However, through proper design, management, and practice, we can enhance safety and reduce the occurrence of deaths, injuries, and illnesses.

Safety is the responsibility of more than just one person or group. Agricultural safety is the shared responsibility of owners, operators, suppliers, manufacturers, processors, and other workers involved in the production chain. All of these persons need to understand the basic safety concepts listed below.

• Hazard is any set of circumstances that may cause harm. Hazards may be mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal, or of some other type. Hazards can be ranked in order of the severity or degree of damage they can cause. For example, the consequences of a tractor rollover can be very severe.
• Risk is the probability of occurrence. In other words, risk is the chance that a given hazard will occur and that a worker might be exposed to it. Some hazards, while severe, have a low risk associated with them because the probability of occurrence is very low. For example, the chances that a worker will be exposed to a hazardous chemical are fairly low if the worker is wearing proper protective clothing. Other hazards, while not so severe, may have a higher degree of risk because incidents may occur more frequently.
• Exposure occurs when a part of your body comes into contact with a hazard or a hazardous environment. Exposure may occur through the absorption, ingestion, or inhalation of some agent or through direct contact with an object or machine part. Exposure may be acute or chronic. It is acute when the exposure occurs over a short time period. It is chronic when the exposure occurs over a long time period.
• The existence of a hazard combined with the probability of risk determines the severity of a situation. Severity is the degree of hazard and the risk associated with the hazard. In agriculture, dangerous situations exist in many forms at all levels of production. Machinery, chemicals, livestock, and the workplace in general present many hazards. Thus, rating the hazard and risk (the probability of danger) of a situation is vital to safety management and prevention of illness or injury.
• Illness is any abnormal condition or disorder, other than injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment. Illnesses may include skin disorders and diseases, diseases of the lungs resulting from exposure to dust, respiratory conditions caused by toxic agents, poisonings, disorders caused by environmental factors, cumulative trauma, and others.
• An injury is a cut, fracture, sprain, or other type of bodily harm that results from exposure to a hazard. Injuries can be minor, requiring no more than first aid, or severe, requiring extensive medical treatment and involving lost workdays.

Understanding the concepts of agricultural safety can help prevent hazardous situations before they arise. This information is also helpful to readers wanting to learn about safety measures, strategies, and techniques for reducing hazards in agricultural production. (Hazard reduction is discussed in detail in other publications in this series.)

Summary

The Agricultural Health Promotion System provides current information on health issues related to agriculture to all interested individuals in the community, ranging from health professionals to migrant workers. Through the cooperation of our land-grant universities, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, East Carolina University Medical School, and local community leaders, implementation of this system will ultimately reduce deaths and injuries related to agriculture.

Other publications in this series provide detailed information on safe practices concerning equipment handling, animal production, pesticide use, and more. For more information on this topic, contact your county Cooperative Extension Center.

References

Watson, Doris D. (Ed.), North Carolina Agricultural Statistics 2001, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, N.C. 2001.

Walden, Michael L., Measuring the Economic Size of the North Carolina Agricu/ture/ Life Sciences/Food, Texti/e and Forestry Sectors, Economics Information Report #80, N.C. State University, Raleigh, 1990.

North Carolina Department of Labor, Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in North Carolina, 1988, North Carolina Department of Labor, Raleigh, N.C. 1991.

Labor Market Information Division, Civilian Labor Force Estimates, Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C. 1992.

Roberts, Darrell L., A Guide to Farm Safety and Health, North Carolina Department of Labor, Raleigh, N.C. 1990

North Carolina Medical Database Commission, Semi-Annual Hospital Inpatient Data Statewide Trend Report: October 1989-March 1990, Department of Insurance, Raleigh, N.C. 1990.

Bernhardt, Judy H., and Ricky L. Langly, Accidental Occupational Farm Fatalities in North Carolina: 1984-1988, Journal of Rural Health, Vol. 8, No.1, 1992.

Turfgrass Council of North Carolina, North Carolina Turfgrass Survey, Turfgrass Council of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C. 1999.

For more information contact:
Grant Ellington-Extension Associate
NC State University
Biological & Agricultural Engineering
Campus  Box 7625
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7625
PHONE: (919) 515-6793
FAX: (919) 515-6772
e-mail: Grant Ellington  ghelling@eos.ncsu.edu