Fatal harmful substances or environmental exposures in agriculture, 1992 to 1996.
Data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries surveillance system from 1992 through 1996 were analyzed to allow a better understanding of exposures to harmful substances or environments that resulted in agricultural work fatalities. There were 357 fatalities as a result of these exposures in the agriculture production and agriculture services sectors, representing 10% of all work-related deaths that occurred in these industry sectors during this period. Contact with electric current represented 52.9% of these fatalities. Agricultural services reported 87 electrocutions, 50 of which occurred among tree trimmers. The events most likely to result in fatalities were contact with overhead power lines (26.3%) and drowning (17.1%). The overall fatality rate was 2.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. The development of appropriate hazard-awareness training for workers, such as that for electrical and drowning-related hazards, may help prevent future deaths in these industry sectors.
Adekoya
N
N
Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WVa. 26505, USA.
Myers
J R
JR
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000401:mortality*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004332:Drowning / Q000401:mortality; D004556:Electric Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D015386:Hazardous Substances