Accidents

  • Wilk, Valerie A.
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AUTHOR ABSTRACT

Agriculture is the second most dangerous occupation in the United States today. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are susceptible to accidents from a variety of sources, although actual documentation of farmworker accidents in not easy. National and state accident data do not identify migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the agricultural categories. Generally, cause of accident and exact occupation of the worker are not specified. Worker's compensation does not cover agricultural workers in 0 states and, thus, agricultural injury and illness data may not even be compiled.

Worker fatigue increases the risk of accidents. Sources of fatigue among farmworkers include the heat and sun, long workdays with few rest periods, excessive noise, vibration, and poor posture caused by prolonged stooping, forward bending, etc.

Children work or play in the fields and thus are exposed to the same occupational hazards as adults. They also are more susceptible to pesticide poisoning accidents.

Prevention of farm accidents depends on engineering controls such as improved equipment design, monitoring the workplace for hazards and eliminating them or reducing their risk, farmworker safety training, and protective gear.

SOURCE AND NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE ID#

SOURCE: The occupational health of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States. Second Edition ed. Washington, D.C.: Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.; 1986: 84-88. ISBN: 0-9616508-2-6.

NLOM ID#: No ID#.

This document was extracted from the CDC-NIOSH Epidemiology of Farm Related Injuries: Bibliography With Abstracts, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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