22 December, 2011

The tragic death of a teenager from Cornwall who fell into a slurry pit in his tractor serves as a timely reminder about the very real dangers that are ever present on farms. 

Only last month, an inquest ruled that 16-year old Jordan Orriss from Wadebridge suffocated as a result of an accident near Padstow in 2010, when the clutch system on his Massey Ferguson failed. The vehicle crashed through a wall and turned over, trapping him beneath the slurry. In court, the health and safety inspector described this failure as a 'freak event'. 

In 2009, six-year old Xander Shaw drowned in a slurry pit while playing with his sister on a farm in Shropshire and two men were killed when they became trapped in a slurry pit in a separate incident in Essex in July this year. 

Thankfully cases like these are rare, but when they do happen, they touch so many lives - families, friends and loved ones. We know and understand that farms are homes, as well as workplaces and because of this, children and teenagers are often present. 

Most of us recognise that agriculture has the highest rates of death and serious injury compared to any other industry in the UK - in 2010/11 there were 34 deaths among farm workers and eight members of the public died on farms. 

Farmers need to make sure they meet their general duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the provisions of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken a lot of work to highlight the risks of slurry pits or liquid stores and now Cornish Mutual's Farmsafe initiative is raising the profile of health and safety in agriculture. 

In the majority of cases, accidents on farms are preventable and there are steps that farmers and landowners can take to reduce the risks. When it comes to confined spaces such as slurry pits, the truth is that taking some simple measures like putting up fencing, gates or covers can help to reduce the risk of death or serious injury. 

The HSE recommends that children should be deterred from accessing the store itself by surrounding the perimeter with a wall or fence, and below-ground stores, such as reception tanks or sheep dips, are covered completely when they are not being used. 

It suggests the fences are properly erected and maintained, constructed using suitable material and have an overall minimum height of 1.3 metres with at least two strands of barbed wire at the top. If it doesn't have barbed wire, consideration should be given as to whether the fence should be two metres in height.

It is also a good idea to make sure that gates and openings have the same level of security and that children cannot open them - either by using chains, padlocks or latches on the inside of the gate. 

When it comes to covering below-ground stores, the HSE recommends making sure the cover(s) can withstand the weight of vehicles, humans or animals, that there are no gaps and that there is suitable signage nearby to deter against unauthorised access. It advises making sure the cover is hinged so it doesn't fall into the store, it remains closed when access is not needed and is heavy enough to stop children opening it or is fitted with a padlock or other locking device. 

It's a good idea not to stack anything near the fence or wall, so that children are unable to climb up and over and similarly, remove any ladders from nearby. 

It is fair to say that some of these recommended measures may not have prevented the deaths highlighted earlier from happening, or made a difference in these particular cases, but it is certainly worth bearing them in mind and doing what you can for your farm to stop the worst from happening. 

For more information, advice and guidance, visit the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) www.hse.gov.uk.