Thursday, January 18, 2018

New Publication Warns of Fatal Confined Space Hazards on Farms

A hole was cut into the side of this whey tank to reach the worker inside.An addition to OSHA's Fatal Facts series emphasizes the hazards of working in confined spaces on farms. These spaces include grain and feed silos, sump pits, and manure storage tanks. Employers should ensure measures are put in place to alert workers to a potential hazardous atmosphere inside confined spaces and prevent workers from entering them without protective controls. The fact sheet examines an incident in which a worker asphyxiated inside a whey storage tank. Each Fatal Facts publicationdescribes a case in which there was a failure to identify and correct hazardous working conditions before a fatality occurred at the worksite.