INJURED: Employee’s Arm Almost Completely Torn-Off After Reaching into aMachine
According to a news clip provided by Ottawa County MSUE, on July 23, 1999 a45-year-old employee was operating a blueberry sorting-machine and it becameclogged with leaves. The employee reached into the powered jammed machine and itsucked in his arm. The emergency crews worked for more than an hour to free thearm from the machine. The rescue tools used to pry metal apart failed; a cuttingtorch had to be used to separate the machine’s circular blades from the victim’sarm. He was then flown to a hospital were doctors worked to reattach the almostsevered arm.

SAFETY TIP: Long-time employees and many others are tempted to reactwithout thinking about the consequences. Think twice about the options to removedebris from a clogged machine and choose the safer method. Shutting Off thePower is usually the safest, most successful first step towards uncloggingmachines.

Howard Doss

Extension offices can use information from the NationalSafety Council (NSC)—posted usually by August 15^th. Their web siteaddress is:
www.nsc.org/farmsafe.htm Depending on funding, hard copies of the 1999 NationalFarm Safety & Health Week may also be provided. I will forward theinformation to you if/when it is received.

Howard Doss