Young workers at risk when working in agricultural production.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Casini V ; Cianfrocco R ; Fields J ; Hard D ; Morton L ; Myers J ; Snyder K
• Description:
  Using two occupational fatality data bases, the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), deaths to agricultural production workers were analyzed. Agricultural production cases were the area of interest for the study, comparing rates and risks by ten-year age groups. CFOI includes deaths to workers of all ages, including youth under the age of 16-years, while NTOF excludes workers younger than 16-years. Employment estimates for calculating fatality rates were derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey (CPS), which allows for national esti- · mates of age-specific employment down to age 15-years. Thus, denominator data for the NTOF was matched for workers 16-years of age and older. For the CFOI, however, employment only included workers 15-years of age and older. Thus the fatality rates for workers <25-years of age using the CFOI are slightly inflated. The national fatality rate for all U.S. private sector workers during 1990 through 1993 was 4.4 deaths/I 00,000 workers based on the NTOF. This rate from CFOI for the years 1992-1995 was 5 deaths/100,000 workers. Both surveillance systems indicate that young agricultural production workers have about a 3-fold greater risk of fatal injury compared to the national private sector rate (12/100,000 workers 16-24 years old in the NTOF; 16.6/100,000 workers <25-years old in the CFOI). Within the agricultural production industry, workers <25-years old have, in general, lower fatality rates than workers older than 25-years, although these young workers had a higher fatality rate than workers 25- to 34-years of age (16.6 and 15.2 deaths/100,000 workers respectively) based on CFOI. Farm tractors were the leading source of injury for workers <25 years old. Trucks were identified as the second leading source of fatal injury for young workers by the CFOI, while the NTOF identified water as the second leading source of injury for young workers, with trucks as the third most common source. The CFOI found workers under 25-years of age to be at higher risk of truck-related deaths than workers 25- to 34-years of age (2.7 and 2.5 deaths/100,000 workers respectively). Although young agricultural workers show lower fatality rates than older agricultural workers, their 3-fold risk increase compared to the general working population indicates that this worker population is an important public health concern. Interventions for younger agricultural workers will require concentrating on farm tractors and trucks. To further such interventions, NIOSH has initiated a childhood agricultural injury prevention program, which will focus on individuals less than 20-years of age. This initiative includes evaluating educational programs designed for youth, and allows for the evaluation of engineering controls for younger workers.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Asbestos Dust Environmental Monitoring Health Surveys Occupational Health Preceptorship Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Textile Industry
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Agricultural Agricultural Industry Agriculture Children Education Engineering Exposure Levels Farmers Farm Workers Fatalities Hazards Humans Injuries Machine Operation Machinery Men Morbidity Rates Mortality Rates Motor Vehicles Public Health Risk Factors Statistical Analysis Surveillance Surveillance Programs Tractors Traumatic Injuries Truck Drivers Trucking Women Workers

  More +
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  36-37
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047955
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 7th Joint Science Symposium on Occupational Safety and Health, October 26-27 1998, Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania. Cincinnati, OH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,1998 Oct; :36-37
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 7th Joint Science Symposium on Occupational Safety and Health, October 26-27 1998, Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2078229df7980cdfc9e952981de2edebfb723911a27636d0c5aff34742814d9be46e7ec79b721dd416dc697458fbe7152fd1be73bf3da83db28a0e5a72e0455f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/181689/cdc_181689_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 49.54 KB ]