Wilde County, Colorado (KDVR) – Agricultural safety expert says that accidents such as accidents that killed six people on the Wild County Dairy farm this week are not uncommon in this industry.
David Dofit, a member of the Hi Blinz Center in Hi Blinz Agricultural Safety and Safety, is understood, and a current professor at the University of Texas A and M, better than most of the severity of agriculture.
“Agriculture, forests and fishing has the highest death rate among all industrial sectors,” said Douphrate.
According to the Labor Statistics Office, between 2016 and 2020, the agriculture, forests, fishing and hunting industry witnessed shy of 3,000 fatal accidents. Duofret between livestock farms says that many of these incidents include hydrogen sulfide, but simultaneously six mortality is something that has not been unprecedented before.
“This was a shock,” he said.
Douphrate says while compost decomposes, it emanates that the gas, which is colorless, has a rotten and very toxic egg smell with high concentrations.
“I think the worker can surrender very quickly, within a few breaths,” Dofit said.
To help fight risk, Doufrate says that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has safety requirements for confined spaces where hydrogen sulfide is located.
“You must test the atmosphere for any toxic gases, and you should make sure that the worker has a suitable oxygen supply.”
He says that the farmer is required to control other safety concerns along with gas in these spaces as well, such as transporting machines or electrical risks. Although Douphrate does not want to speculate on how exactly deaths occur during the investigation, increasing awareness of any accident related to the farm is always important.
“These are dangerous work environments that these workers need to protect,” he said.
Wild County Office says that the autopsy has been completed by all six victims, but more tests are needed before determining the complete cause of death.