A Date Palm Worker Dies After Being Stung by Bees

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cierpich, Hank ; Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  A date palm tree worker died after being stung by numerous bees while working in an organic date orchard. The victim and a co-worker were spraying the dates with high-pressure water when the incident occurred. The victim was reportedly allergic to bee stings and his employer was unaware of his medical condition. The victim was not carrying an epinephrine auto-injector, and the co-worker or others on the farm were not trained in emergency response for bee stings. The CA/FACE investigator determined that, in order to prevent similar future incidents, agricultural employers should ensure the following and recommends: 1. Workers who are allergic to insect stings or bites should be advised to visit a health care professional to obtain a prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector, carry it with them at all times, and inform their employer and co-workers of their allergy to insect stings or bites. 2. A hazard assessment, prevention steps, and incident response plan for insect stings and bites should be incorporated into the company's Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Agriculture
  • Biopharmaceutics
  • Disaster Planning
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Responders
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Environmental Pollution
  More +
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 9
  • Employee exposure
  • Outdoor workers
  • Foodstuff
  • Agricultural workers
  • Forestry workers
  • Flying
  • Insects
  • Allergies
  • Allergic reactions
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Hispanic - Agricultural ; Foreign Born Workers
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE17CA003
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052951
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-101649
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 17CA003, 2018 Mar ; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Resource Number:
  FACE-17CA003
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164972/cdc_164972_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 267.94 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:69c83605f7d1f1f731a50e92ea660c30dd0a4565e36796df1eddf9a6589d180579166a0f32440268bcbad1dfeff7ee7de506703fc42efeb164bdb9b69e424764