Farm Worker Injuries Associated with Bulls. New York State 1991- 1996

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boyd J ; Casey GM ; Gelberg KH ; Grant AM ; Hallman E ; Hill M ; London M ; Pollock J ; Roerig DS
• Description:
  An evaluation of farm worker injuries associated with bulls which occurred in New York State in the years 1991 to 1996 was presented. The Occupational Health Nurses in Agricultural Communities surveillance program conducted investigations of farm injuries to determine their nature and characterize the associated risk factors, with the objective of developing preventive measures. Nurses visited the farms where incidents occurred and recorded relevant information, which was then entered into a common database. The database included information about the farms, victims, injuries, activity performed, work experience, location, immediate cause of the incident, availability of safety equipment, treatment, and lost work time. Of 783 total incidents recorded, 101 were animal related, with 19 involving bulls. Victims were four women and 15 men between 17 and 73 years old. Ten victims were full time farmers, five were full time employees, two were farmer family members, and one was a volunteer worker. Prior aggressive behavior was recorded in five of 19 incidents. In seven of the incidents, the victim's attention was directed at other cattle at the time of the injury. The bulls inflicted multiple injuries. The most frequently injured body parts were the legs and chest, and fractures and contusions were the most common types of injury. Fourteen of the victims returned to work within 2 months. One injury was fatal. The bull inflicted injuries were more severe than those inflicted by cows. The authors identify working alone and not having an escape option as important risk factors for the incidents. To prevent injuries, they recommend keeping bulls in separate, specially designed facilities; having a herding dog to offer diversion in case of attack; doubly restraining the animal with a headlock stall; using a rope through the bull's nose ring if the stall must be entered; never approaching a bull in the open alone; and never getting herded in the blind zone of a bull's vision. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Animal Husbandry Animals Health Personnel Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Animal-husbandry-workers Cattle Injury-prevention Livestock-industry Lost-work-days NIOSH-Cooperative-Agreement Occupational-hazards Occupational-health-nursing Risk-factors Surveillance-programs Traumatic-injuries

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• ISSN:
  0891-0162
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  393-396
• Volume:
  45
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00238204
• Citation:
  AAOHN J 1997 Aug; 45(8):393-396
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Traumatic Injuries
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  AAOHN Journal - American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal
• End Date:
  19990920
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3d0ccfd5cc216de478abb0bbc83bd37cbb71224514b562119da4c1f5139ac5e84ab46912a8f9dc9f219fce558cc6f46e8c7cf3807ab7ba9ac4882fcbaf4db2e1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197909/cdc_197909_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.77 MB ]