Close Call in an Oregon Farm Shop
by Kirk Lloyd, Risk Management Services, Inc.
Agri-Business Council of Oregon Past President Dick Severson had
a remarkable personal experience that he wants to share with our
members. Here is his story:
Dick raises cattle, nursery stock, and specialty crops just
outside Springfield. Like many of us, he does his own shop work to
maintain equipment. Just after Christmas last year, Dick had one of
his trusty Farmall tractors in the shop for work on the hydraulic
system. The weather was cold, and he was intent on getting the
project done during a window of time that he could devote to it. At
various periods during the morning, he started the tractor to test
and perfect the installation that was being made. Late in the
morning, Dick’s friend Dave Kintigh stopped by for a visit and came
into the shop to discuss the tractor project. About 10 minutes into
his visit, as they were standing by the tractor and talking, Dick
suddenly passed out and crumpled to the floor. Dave says there was
no warning this was about to happen; Dick just stopped talking in
the middle of a sentence and went down! Dave called for assistance
and performed first aid until an ambulance crew arrived.
Have I given you enough information to guess what happened? The
answer is that Dick was overcome by carbon monoxide from the tractor
exhaust. If Dave had not been there to care for Dick and summon
help, I would probably be writing a much different story. This one
has a happy ending; Dick was treated for a high level of CO in his
body and recovered with no serious consequences.
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I asked Dick what lesson he took from all of this. He said, “Don’t
take any activity for granted, just because you have done it
before.” Yes, he could have said “don’t run the tractor inside,” or
“leave the doors open.” But what he actually said really gets at the
bigger picture, doesn’t it? All of us take chances once in awhile,
and if nothing bad happens we are at risk of becoming complacent and
losing respect for the hazards around us. Carbon monoxide is an
odorless, colorless, and tasteless toxic gas produced in the burning
of all carbon-based fuels. In Oregon agri-business, the indoor
operation of forklifts is a common source of overexposure. Many
people believe propane forklifts are safe to use indoors, but they
do produce some carbon monoxide under the best of conditions, and
can produce large amounts when they need maintenance. Nationally,
the indoor use of gasoline-powered pressure washers has been a big
problem with numerous fatalities reported in hog confinement
buildings and greenhouses.
To find more information on carbon monoxide hazards and controls,
check out the safety section of the SAIF website (www.saif.com)
or search on the National Ag Safety Database (www.cdc.gov/nasd).
Both of these sites are excellent resources.
If you have suggestions for topics that would be of broad
interest to our members, or have had experiences that you would like
to share through this column, please feel free to contact Kirk Lloyd
at Risk Management Resources, Inc.
Telephone 503-371-9554 in Salem or
email RiskMgt4Ag@aol.com to
contact Kirk.
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