Equipped with a flashlight, shovel, broom and a two way radio, Michelle Williams stepped into a flat-bottomed bin at the livestock feed facility where she worked in January 2003.
Before she began sweeping grain, she radioed her supervisor and received confirmation that two side gates over the auger were closed. She then took two steps forward before her leg was cut off.
The 34-year-old Wolseley, Sask., farmer and mother of three spent six weeks in hospital. She endured reconstructive surgeries, skin grafts and therapy and was eventually fitted with a prosthetic leg and foot.
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This summer, the purchase of a tractor with a shifting system that doesn’t require a clutch enabled her to do some baling on her and her husband’s mixed farm. Being able to farm again helped her gain confidence and overcome a major feeling she struggles with – uselessness.
“As time goes by, so has the acceptance of living with a disability,” she said.
Agriculture has more fatalities and injuries per capita than any other industry. According to the Institute for Agricultural Rural and Environmental Health, there have been 93 agriculture-related deaths in Saskatchewan between 1999 and 2003.
But fatalities and injuries are preventable, says the University of Saskatchewan based institute.
In Williams’ case, a simple guard shield covering the auger would have saved her leg. The newly opened facility where she worked never installed the safety devices because the plant was modelled after an existing one that removed the guards when they caught chaff and disrupted grain flow. Williams believes facilities should be safety inspected before opening for business.
“If they would inspect a plant before it can open, put their stamp of approval on it, this accident would have never happened. The safety violations (the employer) was charged for were quite obvious. (If the facility was inspected) there would be safety guards on there,” she said.
Harry Stilborn, an occupational health officer at Saskatchewan Labour, told rural municipal leaders, public health nurses and farmers at the Saskatchewan Farm Injury Control Summit in Saskatoon on Nov. 8 that employers are responsible for the health and safety of workers and are required to comply with minimum safety standards. Employees have the right to know about hazards and how to control them, the right to participate in occupational health and safety decision-making and the right to refuse work believed to be unsafe.
Stilborn is one of three officers who do spot checks, investigation and safety training on farms, ranches and agribusinesses in the province. He said it is important to focus on safety in agriculture because of the hazards the industry faces. The ripple effect of a fatality can cost up to $7 million in loss of income and medical expenses, he said.
The RCMP or a coroner investigates each workplace fatality in Saskatchewan. Stilborn said each investigation is important because it asks, “how could this have happened?” He said finding the answer prevents another fatality.
The 1999 safety summit set a five-year goal to reduce deaths and disabling injuries in Saskatchewan by 30 percent. But that has not happened for several reasons, said Sean Siever, the institute’s program co-ordinator.
“Our farmers are getting older and are more prone to injury due to reduced strength and balance. This puts them more at risk,” he said.
“Increased financial pressures put more stress on producers. This means that they may have to work longer hours or second jobs to make ends meet or may be in a hurry. As well, the increased stress may reduce a person’s concentration on a task. All of these factors put a person more at risk.”
