Vol 9, No. 7, October 2008

Contents  Thoughts & Quotes  Safety Topics PTO Safety Interactive Training Now on NASD Eye Safety Guide for Farmers Farmedic Training Programs for Rescue Workers Farm Safety Lesson plans, Activities and Presentations On-line Spanish Comic Book Available for Farm Families Tool Training for New Employees Dangerous Look-Alikes (Poison Posters)  Preparedness and Recovery Topics Pandemic Flu Handout on Florida Ag Safe Rehabbing Flooded Houses Manual On-line  About Safety News & Notes

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THOUGHTS & QUOTES

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PTO Safety Interactive Training Now on NASD

The NASD Safety Training Site has been activated. The first interactive module is on PTO safety. Plans are underway to work on two more modules in the coming year. One on the interaction of farm machinery and motorists on public roads and the other possibly on confined spaces. Access the PTO training module from the NASD home page or go directly to the Training Web site page: http://www.nasdtraining.org/.

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Eye Safety Guide for Farmers

A brochure, Protecting Your Sight: Eye Safety Guide for Farmers, has recently been published by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (NECAS) and the AgriSafe Network. It is linked in the list of materials available at the Center’s Web site.

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Farmedic Training Programs for Rescue Workers

The main goal of the Farmedic Training Program is to provide rural fire/rescue responders with a systematic approach to farm rescue procedures that address the safety of both patients and responders. For information about the national program, see http://www.farmedic.com/. Train-the-trainer types of programs are offered. Florida’s State Fire College offers a Farmedic course periodically. Visit http://www.fldfs.com/sfm/bfst/index.shtml for scheduling information.

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Farm Safety Lesson plans, Activities and Presentations On-line

Students in an Oregon State University Ag Safety and Health course, have posted on-line several farm safety topics. Each topic includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint slides, and activities. These students were developing materials that they could use in teaching ag education classes in junior and senior high schools or in extension programs. These are certainly helpful for providing others with additional teaching ideas.

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Spanish Comic Book Available for Farm Families

Farm Safety 4 Just Kids has a vast offering of educational materials. These can be accessed at: http://www.fs4jk.org/services.html. A new Spanish-language educational comic book targets migrant and seasonal farmworker families. The book’s goal is to educate parents about children’s risks to pesticide exposure and ways to minimize these risks. The book can be downloaded from www.fs4jk.org/spanish.html.

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Tool Training for New Employees

The following article, from Richard Hawk's Safety Stuff, August 6, 2008, issue # 409, is about new employees and ways to make sure they work safely (or are looked out for) while they become experienced. The outline provided is designed as a guide for supervisors/foremen to use when training a new employee on the topic of “Tool Use”. The format can readily be adapted for other topics such as lifting techniques or hazard identification.

EXPLAIN:

• The responsibility everyone has to use tools properly.
• What employees should do if they can't get the proper tool or don't know what is the proper tool to use.
• The company's responsibility to provide the proper tools.

SHOW:

• The list of tools he or she might have to use. (If you don't have one, make one.)
• Ways to tell if the tool is defective (rust and cracks, sharp edges, bent or missing parts, rounded edges or dull blades, etc.).
• How to use each tool properly.
• Several things NOT to do with the tool. (Obviously don't do this in a way that will cause any risk. Example: You can demonstrate that you shouldn't use a pipe wrench as a hammer without actually hitting anything with it.)

WATCH:

• Have the employee repeat your demonstration and explain his actions. (Don't expect perfection. Remember the employee may be nervous because you are watching.)
• The more complicated the tool or the higher the risk, the more important this step becomes. (For some power tools the employee may need more formal training before he can use it.)

ASK AND LISTEN:

• Do this throughout your session.
• Find out what tools on the list has the new employee used before? (Don't insult him by asking if he has ever used a pair of scissors, or a screwdriver. Let the person tell you the tools he has and has not used.)
• Ask if there is anything which you demonstrated that he feels uncertain about?

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Dangerous Look-Alikes (Poison Posters)

There has been one death, one person in critical condition, and four poisonings in New Jersey related to adults and children mistakenly swallowing torch oil, after thinking it was apple juice. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) joins the New Jersey Poison Information & Education Systems (NJ PIES) in urging all consumers to lock up potentially poisonous look-alike products, such as lamp oil, and to keep them in their child-resistant containers. There are clear warning labels on these products, as they can cause serious lung damage.

There is an article with good information from Upstate New York. Click on "Kid Stuff" for checklists, etc. Poison Prevention Checklist lists some poisonous items you might find in your home. The materials also include a Teacher’s Guide.

The Florida Poison Information Center Network (FPICN) is dedicated to providing emergency services 24 hours a day to the citizens of Florida by offering poison prevention and management information through the use of a nationwide, toll-free hotline (1-800-222-1222) accessible by voice and TTY.

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Pandemic Flu Handout on Florida Ag Safe

Pandemic Flu – What You Need to Know is a half-page flyer developed for use as a quick ‘tip-sheet’ hand-out at local preparedness and health events. It describes, what Pandemic Flu is, what is the danger, and how can you protect yourself. The flyer is on the Florida AgSafe Web site. For more details about Pandemic Flu see the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Avian Influenza Issues page.

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Rehabbing Flooded Houses Manual On-line

HUD has produced a brand new manual, Rehabbing Flooded Houses – A Guide for Builders and Contractors. The comprehensive publication is free, on-line, and is written in English and Spanish. It includes guidance on safety, dry-out, clean-up, rehab, as well as flood-resistant restoration methods and materials. Included are lists of references from various states’ Extension materials, along with other related resources, including FEMA and Red Cross.

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• Florida AgSafe Web site
• The Disaster Handbook
• National Agricultural Safety Database
• Extension Disaster Education Network
• Florida State Agricultural Response Team (SART)