The festive season will soon be upon us and as this is the last bulletin for 2012, we would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and of course, a healthy and safe 2013.
As the winter draws in, your thoughts will probably turn to carrying out repairs to machinery and buildings around the farm. Please take extra care when working in the dark, in inclement weather and when working alone. Take the time to assess the risks to you and your workers before carrying out tasks and use the correct equipment. The incidents mentioned in this edition serve to highlight the need for proper planning of maintenance tasks on your farm.
In this edition we look at new guidance issued by The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) on the dangers of slurry gases. We also cover disposal of radioactive parts contained in some combine harvesters as well as our Safety and Health Awareness Days (SHADs) and some of our updated guidance documents.
Did you know that in an emergency you can contact the emergency services using your mobile phone even if you don’t have a signal? By dialling 999 or 112, your mobile will connect to any network. It can also be used with pay as you go phones that have no credit on them.
You should keep your phone within easy reach in your pocket and not in your vehicle or tractor. If you are unfortunate enough to have an accident while working alone you will then be able to summon help.
You may remember the triple fatality in Northern Ireland involving a father and two sons.
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) have recently produced a guidance leaflet which reminds farmers of the dangers when mixing and spreading slurry. Gases released during agitation can prove fatal.
Between the mid 1980’s and 2006 AGCO UK Ltd (under the Massey Ferguson trade name) supplied around 850 combine harvesters fitted with crop yield meters containing radioactive sources. When no longer in use, the radioactive source inside must be disposed of safely via a specialist waste disposal company.
MF 30 and 40 series machines, and 7200 series machines which followed (commonly called the Cerea range) were typically fitted with radioactive sources up to 2006.
AGCO UK Ltd is currently offering a free radioactive source disposal service which will run to 31st December 2012. Thereafter disposal costs via a specialist contractor could be of the order of a few thousand pounds, as commercial rates will apply.
AGCO UK Ltd will also only continue to offer their free Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) service until the end of 2012. If you continue to work with these sources beyond this date, you will need to make arrangements to consult a suitably competent and experienced RPA or RPA body.
A list of competent RPAs can be found at RPA 2000 and RPA bodies recognised by HSE are detailed at RPA Bodies
For further information contact:
HSE’s 2012 programme of Safety and Health Awareness Days (SHADS) has recently got off to a flying start, with the first five events over-subscribed.
Around 1700 farmers attended the first events in Salisbury, Ilminster, Orkney, Spalding and Ludlow and there are a further 22 planned across Britain for 2012/13.
Farmers are encouraged to respond to their invitations straight away to avoid missing out on these informative and valuable events.
Visit our website to find out more about SHADs and to see if there’s one near you.
If you are planning a visit to the LAMMA show (16-17 January) why not pay us a visit on our stand, to receive free advice from our team.
HSE is currently reviewing its publications. The leaflets below have recently been through this process and have been updated.
A farmer and an agricultural machinery supplier have been fined after a young casual worker had three tendons in his right hand severed by a potato crusher on a potato harvester, which had no guard in place to protect workers against dangerous moving parts.
A farming business has been fined after a building contractor was left paralysed when he fell through a barn roof whilst replacing damaged roof panels and skylights.
A fresh produce firm has been fined for safety breaches after a worker fell more than four metres through a greenhouse roof whilst was cleaning and repainting gutters.
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