Farm Activities Associated with Eye Injuries in the Agricultural Health Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alavanja MCR ; Burmeister LF ; Gillette PP ; Lynch CF ; Sprince NL ; Thu K ; Whitten PS ; Zwerling C
• Description:
  Farmers are at risk for work-related eye injuries, some of which can be very serious. This study describes the farm activities that were related to eye injury in a group of 36 Iowa farmers in the Agricultural Health Study who sustained 40 farmwork-related eye injuries requiring medical advice or treatment. Farm activities of grinding or cutting metal accounted for 11 (27.5%) of the eye injuries, welding for 3 (7.5%), and drilling for 2 (5%). The other 24 eye injuries were related to diverse farm activities. One injury was caused by an animal. Only one injury was caused by a chemical exposure. Foreign body in the eye was the most frequent type of eye injury overall, accounting for 32 (80%) of the eye injuries. Of those, 20 were metallic foreign bodies. Although none of the injuries required hospitalization, 10 eye injuries (25%) resulted in the farmer missing 1 to 5 days of work. At least three injuries occurred while farmers were wearing safety glasses/goggles. These results suggest that farmers are at risk for eye injury from activities such as grinding and cutting metal, welding, and drilling and from other diverse activities on the farm for which eye hazards may not have been anticipated. In addition, these findings have implications for use of appropriate eye protection during all farm activities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Eye Farmers Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sense Organs Sense Organs / Injuries

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: Eye Injury Eye Hazards Eye Injuries Eye Protection Farmer Farm Workers Occupational Accidents Risk Factors
• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17-22
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059047
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2008 Jan; 13(1):17-22
• Contact Point Address:
  Nancy L. Sprince, MD, MPH, Professor Emerita, Occupational and Environmental Health and Internal Medicine, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 108 IREH, 100 Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000
• Email:
  nancy-sprince@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Wholesale and Retail Trade ; Services
• Performing Organization:
  Iowa State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20210630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a1985c18f90df534c0b6ec34a36b4a60f42b1607796141a6c90b0c2327de8d29891299ead08847512c69fe3ffbb468bfad032c7f07c39ec46058d9896f68d17d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223376/cdc_223376_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 231.71 KB ]