Ag Alert, November 9, 2011, Wednesday

Ag Alert

November 9, 2011, Wednesday

Ag Alert

Safety Training About Manure and Digesters

On November 1, 2011 Nellie Brown (Cornell University – ILR/Extension) provided a workshop on safety consideration around manure handling facilities and digesters on the Tom and Diane Roach farm in East Venice.

I didn’t realize that Nellie’s experience included the management and operation of a waste water treatment facility. She is able to relate to the science associated with gasses commonly produced by manure and the equipment and processes common with wastes-manure.

As you might expect the participants were focused on the equipment necessary for the process of converting manure to gas. Nellie knew that this would focus their attention and spring boarded to the lessons that could be learned. Participants were urged to consider what types of gasses or other hazards might be associated with the operation, maintenance, repair or risks leading to the dangerous conditions.

The hit of the day was Nellie’s portable monitoring device, which was the size of a deck of cards, but a real life saver. It was tied to a bale string and lowered into areas to determine the accumulation of gases heavier than air. By raising the meter on a stick it would determine gas accumulation in unventilated areas within a building to identify gases lighter than air. This unit can clip to your belt and sounds an alert that would warn you if it is detecting a dangerous level of a gas. This alert is set to detect and alarm if it senses an amount that would be a hazard if the person wearing it was working in these conditions for the next ten hours.

Nellie’s perspective was to provide inquiry where there could be a better or safer way to accomplish the daily tasks working in and around manure and equipment.

One of the components she focused on during the workshop was the ability to lock out or disable the power or the function of the equipment while inspecting or maintaining. The participants recognized the critical nature of this step and were reminded how important this is to them on the job.

When listing critical points to the agricultural audiences she rated them as being aware of confined space hazards, caution around pressurized systems that could be activated by back pressure to run inappropriately, noise as a hazard, and locking out systems while in a maintenance mode.
This was a great training and awareness session for the participants.

Special thanks to the Roach’s, their staff; and Nellie Brown, Director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs for Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations M.S. C.I.H.

The Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health for providing support under their NYSDOL HAB grant, so that this workshop could be made possible.