Farmer and his employee died after collapse and attempted rescue in manure storage pit

Details

• Personal Author:
  Leonard, Stephanie
• Corporate Authors:
  Iowa Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Program (Iowa FACE) ; University of Iowa. College of Public Health. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Description:
  On a spring afternoon in 2005, a 52-year-old farmer and his 23-year-old hired hand were emptying manure from the pit beneath a cattle confinement shed at the farmer's homestead. After the job was finished at about 15:30, the farmer "climbed down" the vertical manure transfer pump that was in the pit, presumably to retrieve a chain that had fallen in the pit earlier that week. While in the pit, he collapsed and fell backward. His employee either witnessed the collapse or discovered the farmer in the pit. He ran 150 yards to the farmer's house and told the wife to call 911 because her husband had fallen in the pit. The employee raced back to assist the farmer. He was followed by the farmer's daughter. The employee then entered the pit in an attempted rescue. He, too, collapsed and fell face down in four to six inches of manure that remained in the pit. The farmer's father-in-law (who had come to the site by chance) and daughter witnessed the employee's collapse. After completing the 911 call, the farmer's wife rushed to the shed with a ladder to attempt rescue, but her father prevented her from entering. Within five to seven minutes of the 911 call, local firefighters and emergency responders arrived from the nearby town. Medical assistance was requested from a regional hospital 12 miles away. An initial rescue attempt was made by an emergency responder wearing an air-purifying respirator. On his way into the pit, he had difficulty breathing and nearly passed out, but he managed to get back out of the pit. Firefighters then donned self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) respirators, entered the pit, and retrieved the unconscious victims. Medics took over care of the victims and transported them to the nearest hospital. From there, they were air-lifted to a tertiary-level hospital 70 miles away. Medical evaluation of both victims revealed anoxic brain injury. Neither regained consciousness. Over the course of several days, their conditions deteriorated, and do-not-resuscitate orders were made for each individual. The farmer died four days after the incident, and his employee died ten days later. Autopsies were performed. The cause of death for both individuals was anoxic-hypoxic encephalopathy due to inhalation of manure gases. Factors contributing to these fatalities include: 1. The unrecognized hazard of manure gases. 2. Entry of a confined space without following confined space procedures. 3. Lack of training on safety hazards and emergency response. 4. Lack of ventilation to dissipate dangerous gases. To prevent future incidents of this nature, livestock producers should: 1. Identify manure pits as confined spaces and post warning signs at building entry and pit access points. 2. Train employees and inform family members, contractors, and other agricultural workers who may be at the site regarding hazards associated with manure pit environments. 3. Follow confined space entry procedures which include testing the atmosphere, working with spotters and observers, and wearing appropriate safety equipment. 4. Develop an emergency plan that is shared with workers and family members before a potential emergency arises
  
  warn of the danger of attempted rescues. 5. Consider purchasing or renting gas detection equipment to assess hazardous environments. 6. Ventilate manure pit spaces before, during, and after agitation to dissipate toxic gases Additionally, equipment owners should assure that manure gas warning decals are present and intact on manure transfer pumps and tanks, and equipment manufacturers should consider incorporating safety labels that warn against using the pumps to access a pit.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Confined Spaces Emergencies Farmers Hydrogen Sulfide Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Manure Pit Confined-spaces Confined Space Emergency-response Exposure-levels Farmer Farm Worker Gases Hydrogen Sulfide Injuries Injury-prevention Livestock Building OSHA Region 7 Rescue Risk-factors Safety-education Training Traumatic-injuries Ventilation-systems

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Agriculture ; Confined Space
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE05IA024
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-13
• Contributor:
  Anthony, T. Renée
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045916
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-103746
• 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 05IA024, 2014 Aug ; :1-13
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2006/07/01
• End Date:
  2021/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:89f7036a959ef61956d21f378d046099af7f65873707b5f127696e8161792293d17c7f5aa58f46ba9a6cc8aac5032ea1ca7ab910ff77a85580c188ac480c59b8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165084/cdc_165084_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.83 MB ]