Farm Safety And Housekeeping– Environmental Hazards

By Author: peter main
Total Articles: 131
Comment this article

If any farm or agricultural operation can be thought of in environmental terms in two ways. The most common is to think of it as an environment include a physical sense in which the work of the farm is carried out. This can include the land, the buildings, animals and livestock etc.

These to create housekeeping issues in their own right, but the time environment can also apply in a much smaller sense in the day-to-day workplace that exists, and where a buildup of the normal day-to-day work materials and practices can generate health and safety risks that can be managed and dealt with.

One of the most common issues that can easily be ignored is that of dust. Does not take much imagination to realise how much dust can exist in any type of form or agricultural business.

What is often not appreciated so much is at dust can be a major source of fire hazard. The comparison is often made with that of kindling. Anyone who starts a fire, will probably appreciate that it can often ...
... need materials that are known as kindling materials to start the fire off, before adding larger pieces of wood to it.

Dust is known to have a very low kindling temperature, and can burn in a manner that is often compared to that of petrol or gasoline in that it can act in such a way that seems like an explosion.

Back to the amount of dust that is bound to accrue on any farm or agricultural operation, and it will quickly be realised that this is a serious issue.

On one hand it is impossible not to have dust around the business, however clean it is kept, or however much the team protocols are put in place and adhere to, at the same time it is important to identify areas of risk.

The really important thing is to understand where a build up of dust could lead to a fire if the area around the dust is particularly flammable, and these are areas that need to be kept clean at all times.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that dust explosions have occurred with much severity in feed mills, and grain storage elevators. Apparently the explosion normally occurs when some type of electrical spark ignites the dust and leads to a fire with potentially awful consequences.

But can also be ignited by sparks that can fly from people using welding equipment, often in a perfectly safe manner. Sparks are a side-effect of welding which is frequently used in different types of grain and feed holdings, as well as in other types of farming and agricultural businesses.

It is important to apply the principles of housekeeping to welding equipment, and the areas around any machinery were welding takes place. This can apply to welding helmets as well as welding curtains. Making sure these are safe to use on a regular basis not only reduces the possibility of fire risk, but also reduces the possibility of an employee being damaged in any way in a physical sense due to poor or damaged equipment.