Agricultural safety - Articles

NIOSH announces 11 Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health

September 6, 2022

The Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing, based at the University of Illinois Chicago, is the newest NIOSH Ag Center. It was created to amplify research efforts in farmworker health and wellbeing, as well as foster tighter networks of researchers, policy makers, advocacy groups, and healthcare organizations.

Get ready for Grain Engulfment Prevention Week

April 4, 2018

Next week, April 9-13, is “Stand-Up for Grain Engulfment Prevention Week,” an effort on the part of OSHA and the National Grain and Feed Association to reduce the number of grain engulfment deaths in the U.S. – which usually occur from suffocation.

A Confined Space blog post

Short Stuff: More Problems for Construction, Poultry Processing, Farms and Whistleblowers.

So why doesn’t anyone want to work at DOL?

Jordan Barab

May 31, 2017

Do Not Pass go: The New York Times reports that “the owner of two Brooklyn construction companies was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday because the authorities said he ignored complaints about a poorly maintained retaining wall that collapsed at a work site in 2015, killing an 18-year-old laborer and injuring two others.”

Neb. feed company exposes workers to grain handling, electrical hazards

Nutrition Services cited for more than two dozen violations

November 4, 2016

Responding to a report of unsafe working conditions, federal investigators found employees at a Nebraska animal feed company exposed to the risk of grain dust explosion, electrical shock and confined space hazards, and multiple other violations of grain handling safety standards.

Farmworker advocates demand highly toxic pesticide be suspended

November 4, 2016

The United Farm Workers, labor and community health groups from Florida to California are urging the EPA to immediately suspend hundreds of uses of chlorpyrifos, an acutely toxic pesticide that harms workers and their family members.

Ark., La. and W. Va have this dubious distinction

October 20, 2016

The Southeastern part of the U.S. has an especially high workplace fatality rate, with 5.2 work-related injury deaths per 100,000 workers in 2014, compared with 3.8 nationwide, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

NIOSH project retrofits 50 rollover protective structures

September 23, 2016

The best way to reduce the risk of death from tractor rollovers is by using a special device called a rollover protective structure with a seatbelt. The image above depicts a tractor retrofitted with the NIOSH CROPS.

Ag lighting & marking: Collaboration becomes law

Mike Senneff

September 21, 2016

On July 6, 2012 President Obama signed into law the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), a $105 billion bill to fund federal surface transportation spending for two years.

A CDC Blog post

Celebrating National Farm Safety and Health Week

Farm safety: A legacy to be proud of

Scott Heiberger

September 20, 2016

September 18-24, 2016, is National Farm Safety and Health Week (NFSHW). This annual event, begun by the National Safety Council in 1944, promotes safe and healthy practices on farms and ranches around the U.S.

From the NIOSH Director’s Desk

NORA Enters Its Third Decade

Dr. John Howard

September 9, 2016

On October 1, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) enters its third decade. Unveiled in 1996, NORA is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Through NORA, diverse parties come together to create a research framework for the nation, including stakeholders from universities, large and small businesses, professional societies, government agencies, and worker organizations. NIOSH is proud to continue its role as steward of NORA.