YANG GENG, MS Graduate Student DEE JEPSEN, Associate Professor and Advisor Safety and Health Practices of Ohio Grain Farmers when Working around their Grain Storage Facilities: A Research in Progress Presentation for ISASH 2016

Introduction: Ohio grain situation Corn harvested ranks 8 in United States. Soybeans harvested ranks 9 in United States. Farming is primary occupation of principal operators of 43.9% farm operators (n=33,140). In Ohio, farmers usually choose grain bins to store their grain, they also use silos and flat storage.

Introduction: Safety risk in grain storage facilities Farming operator is a dangerous occupation. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers are located in the top 10 occupations with high fatal work injury rates. Grain storage facilities are confined space. The incidents which happened in agricultural confined spaces have many kinds types, including entrapment, suffocation, fall, heat stress, and explosions.

Deaths in Ohio grain storage facilities, N=11

Health is a risk in grain storage facilities Organic dust: grain dust, insect part, and microorganisms such as mold Organic dust could cause many diseases: organic dust toxicity syndrome (ODTS), chronic bronchitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (Farmer’s Lung) Atmospheric hazards: Oxygen deficiency, toxic gases

Problem Statement Grain storage is an important process in agriculture. There are many problems and hazards around grain storage and grain storage facilities. It is important to understand farmers’ work practices and behaviors and these effects on the grain storage and ultimately their work safety.

Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this study was to describe the current storage and safety conditions for Ohio cash grain operators. Describe Ohio on-farm grain storage situation. Describe farmers’ safety knowledge and their behavior during their work. Describe recent three years corn and soybeans storage situation. Explore the relationship between farmers’ safety knowledge and their behaviors with grain storage situation.

Methodology The questionnaire for Current Storage and Safety Conditions for Ohio On-Farm Grain Facilities was used in this study. The questionnaire includes four components. General Farm Information Health and Safety Aspects of Farmers’ Grain Facility Management Practices of Farmers’ Stored Grain Information About Farmers’ Grain Storage Facilities Target population Ohio farmers who have on-farm storage for their corn & soybeans

Results Data collection March March farmers took part in the survey, with 182 valid questionnaires. The survey had statewide representation, with 64 of the 88 counties providing data

General Farm Information Average farmland acres is 1,171. Distribution of acres of farms (unite acre) or more

The average number of e mployees on farm is four. Distribution of the employees number 1 worker 2 workers 6 workers 5 workers 3 workers 4 workers 10 workers 9 workers 7 workers 8 workers 11 workers 12 workers

Table 1. Worker Responsibilities by Age Group Age Group of Workers Total Number of the Workers Grain HarvestGrain Transport Grain Storage- Related Grain Facility Cleaning Not Applicable 13 and under and over % of workers aged years old were reported to perform all four types of work. 81.6% of workers aged 20 – 64 years old were reported to perform all four types of work. 41% of workers in age group 65 years old and over took part in all types of work.

Result of Health and Safety Aspects of Farmers Table 2. Farmers’ Knowledge of Out of Condition Grain. Reported knowledge level (n=183) Know nothing （ 0 ） Know a little （ 25 ） Know somewhat （ 50 ） Know a lot （ 75 ） Know everything （ 100 ） Have some reported knowledge* The health effects of out of condition grain The safety risks of entering a bin with out of condition grain Farmers’ average score in the health effects of out of condition grain is Farmers’ average score in the safety risks of entering a bin with out of condition grain is Farmers know more information in safety risk than the health effects of out of condition grain (p=0.016<0.05).

Personal Protection Equipment PPEs used by farmers Dust mask GlovesN95 mask Hearing Protection Safety glasses Fall protection equipment Full Face Respirator Towel or cloth to cover the mouth and nose Hard hats Do not use anything Life line

The situation about farmers chosen respirators. PPEs used by farmers 91.8% farmers knew they needed respiration protection and used respirators to protect themselves Dust mask GlovesN95 mask Hearing Protection Safety glasses Fall protection equipment Full face Respirator Towel or cloth to cover the mouth and nose Hard hats Do not use anything Life line

Where farmers get their Personal Protection Equipment Local farm store Safety company Hardware store Internet Gift Other

Behaviors When Farmers Work in The Grain Storage Facilities Work in a group Wear PPE Turn off power Turn off air exchange system Lock of energy source Work alone Do nothing Other

Correlation analysis The correlation between the knowledge of health risk and safe risk of out-of- condition grain is 0.792, which means farmers who have good knowledge in health risk of out-of-condition grain also know the safety risk when they enter the grain bins with out-of-condition grain. Dust mask has a negative correlation (-0.566) with N95 mask. Meaning farmers usually chose one of them. In farmers safety behavior wearing PPE had highest positive correlation (0.356) with safe risk knowledge. Therefore the farmers’ knowledge about the safety risk of out-of-condition reflected on their behavior to mainly wear PPE and work in a team.

Where Farmers Get Safety Knowledge Magazine/periodical Equipment operation handbook Course or seminar Safety decals Membership to an organization Friends neighbors or family members Company or industry representative Internet Newspaper TV Safety DVD Radio Cell phone app Do not receive Other

Where farmers prefer to get their safety information Magazine/periodical Equipment operation handbook Course or seminar Safety decals Membership to an organization Friends neighbors or family members Company or industry representative Internet Newspaper TV program Safety DVD Radio Cell phone app Do not receive Other

Discussion: Definition the dust mask and N95 mask A dust mask or a filtering facepiece is a negative pressure particulate respirator with a filter as an integral part of the facepiece or with the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium (OSHA, 2016a). An N95 respirator is an air-purifying negative pressure respirator equipped with an N95 filter. If the filter is an integral part of the facepiece, or the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium, the respirator is also considered a filtering facepiece respirator (OSHA, 2016e). An N95 mask is under NIOSH standard 42 CFR part 84. NIOSH certify three classes of filters, N-, R-, and P-series, with three levels of filter efficiency, 95%, 99%, and 99.97%, in each class.

Therefore when farmers choose respirators to protect themselves, they should choose at least N95 mask, although N99 and N100 could be better. NOTE: there is a 200 mg filter loading limit of the N- series mask, which implies these pieces need to be changed while in use. No clear standard or recommendation for how long an N- series mask could be used.

The highest safety behavior accepted by farmers is to wear PPE. Part of the required PPE when working at heights is a lifeline. OSHA standard: “Whenever an employee enters a grain storage structure from a level at or above the level of the stored grain or grain products, or whenever an employee walks or stands on or in stored grain of a depth which poses an engulfment hazard, the employer shall equip the employee with a body harness with lifeline, or a boatswain's chair that meets the requirements of subpart D of this part.” However, the lifeline is not widely used by farmers. Discussion: Safety Behavior & Other PPE Choice

Working in a team and turn off the power is also required by OSHA. When turn off the power, OSHA also requires lock-out. OSHA standard is “All mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment which presents a danger to employees inside grain storage structures shall be de-energized and shall be disconnected, locked-out and tagged, blocked- off, or otherwise prevented from operating by other equally effective means or methods.” Discussion: Safety Behavior & Other PPE Choice

In the “Children and Safety on the Farm” report: farmers should maintain safety zone around farm structures which are especially dangerous for children such as silos and grain bins (D. Murphy, 2006). Youth between 14 to 18 need training and education before take part in working and need supervised. In this study, there were seven children working at the grain storage facilities. Discussion: Working Situation about Youth

Conclusions The grain farms in Ohio usually operate more than a thousand acres farmland. Most of them are family farms, and have four employees. Youth aged fourteen to eighteen years old were reported working around the grain storage facilities. There are also seven children below age 14 working around the grain storage facilities. The Ohio farmers prefer to store their corn and soybeans in grain bins. The number of grain bins ranged from 1 – 28, and the average age was 27 years old with an average capacity of 49,000 bushels. The storage period of corn and soybeans was approximately six months.

Ohio farmers have good knowledge in the health effects and safety risks of the out-of-condition grain. They used PPE to protect themselves for certain practices. More than 90% farmers knew and used respirator during working. And the safety behaviors, such as working in a team, were accepted. Their safety knowledge was mainly from a magazine/periodical, a course or seminar, an equipment operation handbook, and safety decals. They prefer to study safety knowledge from a course or seminar, reading a magazine/periodical, and the Internet. Conclusions

Thank You, Any Questions Yang Geng, Dee Jepsen,