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It is important to remember the key safety rules when agitating and emptying manure stores. These rules include taking steps to promote ventilation, removing workers and if possible animals, from buildings or nearby downwind structures, starting the agitation slowly, and watching for any harmful effects. Never enter an enclosed manure store without appropriate precautions, and be mindful that you can be overcome with a single breath if concentrations are high.
Facts surrounding the most recent incidents are sketchy, but custom applicators reported high to dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide on the ground near tankers and in the cab of tractors during filling, according to a news release from Kevin Erb, University of Wisconsin Extension.
“Levels of hydrogen sulfide over 10 parts per million (ppm) should be considered dangerous, with most personal alarms set at 10 to 20 ppm,” says University of Illinois Extension educator Jay Solomon. “Levels of 1-10 ppm cause irritation, 10-50 ppm cause more serious problems with eyes and respiratory tract, and above 50 ppm can be lethal quickly.” He also noted that this latest set of mortalities occurred in naturally ventilated deep-pit beef operations.
Two fact sheets, "Safe Manure Removal Policies" and "Manure Storage Entering Procedures are available free online from the National Pork Board and U of I Extension's ag safety website.
"Don't forget the importance of ensuring that new or inexperienced workers are also trained in safety," Gates concludes.
- Recent deaths of cattle in the Illinois-Iowa-Wisconsin region point to pit gases as the culprit.
- Hydrogen sulfide and methane gasses from liquid/slurry stores can be lethal to animals and people.
- Remember key safety rules before agitating and emptying manure stores.
- Make sure new or inexperienced workers are trained in safety.
It is important to remember the key safety rules when agitating and emptying manure stores. These rules include taking steps to promote ventilation, removing workers and if possible animals, from buildings or nearby downwind structures, starting the agitation slowly, and watching for any harmful effects. Never enter an enclosed manure store without appropriate precautions, and be mindful that you can be overcome with a single breath if concentrations are high.
Facts surrounding the most recent incidents are sketchy, but custom applicators reported high to dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide on the ground near tankers and in the cab of tractors during filling, according to a news release from Kevin Erb, University of Wisconsin Extension.
“Levels of hydrogen sulfide over 10 parts per million (ppm) should be considered dangerous, with most personal alarms set at 10 to 20 ppm,” says University of Illinois Extension educator Jay Solomon. “Levels of 1-10 ppm cause irritation, 10-50 ppm cause more serious problems with eyes and respiratory tract, and above 50 ppm can be lethal quickly.” He also noted that this latest set of mortalities occurred in naturally ventilated deep-pit beef operations.
Two fact sheets, "Safe Manure Removal Policies" and "Manure Storage Entering Procedures are available free online from the National Pork Board and U of I Extension's ag safety website.
"Don't forget the importance of ensuring that new or inexperienced workers are also trained in safety," Gates concludes.
