Tragic farm deaths in Poland highlight the need for safety
The seven, including four people from the same family, are reported to have been overcome by poisonous slurry gases when a woman worker accidentally drove a tractor onto a slurry tank, which gave way.
Others who tried to rescue her also died in the incident, near Karczowka, a village in western Poland. Officials said the victims include a father, his two sons and a daughter-in-law.
A 45-year-old female survivor was taken to hospital by helicopter, fighting for her life.
The tragedy brings into sharp focus the importance of the advice issued by IFA this week to its members, to mark last Monday’s IFA National Farm Safety Awareness Day.
IFA urged farmers to take time with family members, and farm staff, to review or complete a risk assessment, which is available on their website and on the Health and Safety Authority’s HSA.ie website.
This enables farmers to reduce risks for themselves, their families, employees and farm visitors, and to ensure they are complying with health-and-safety legislation.
The best route to safety on the farm is to know where hazards occur, and to follow up by eliminating or reducing these risks with appropriate control measures.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires that all farmers with three employees or more complete a Safety Statement. Farmers with fewer than three employees can comply with the requirement by adhering to the Farm Safety Code of Practice, completing the Farm Safety Risk Assessment, and implementing the appropriate control measures.
Think ‘safety first’ in all the tasks you perform, farmers were advised this week by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.
Health and safety is a fundamental requirement of a sustainable farming business and should be regarded as an essential part of farm business management.
Unwise risk-taking is an underlying problem in the industry, and those working on their own are especially vulnerable.
The personal costs of injury and ill-health can be devastating. Life is never the same again for family left behind after a work-related death, or for those looking after someone with a long-term illness or injury caused by their work.
