Sixth farming fatality for 2010

12 May 2010

WorkSafe Victoria inspectors have attended the scene of a workplace fatality at a beef and cropping business near Wyuna.

WorkSafe believes that the incident occurred at around 7pm last night, when a 33 year-old man started to climb a ladder on the side of a 12-15 tonne metal silo full of barley.

It is understood that corrosion to the base of the silo caused it to topple over on to him.

Inspectors will return to the incident scene today.

WorkSafe Victoria’s Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said:

“WorkSafe is calling on famers to immediately inspect structures which they may need climb or gain access to – such as windmills, feed bins and fuel tanks – for any signs of corrosion or structural damage.

“We want farmers to pay particular attention to structures that may be affected by corrosion from things like excess moisture or chemical use.

“If you’re unsure whether a structure is safe, you need to get it checked by a competent person, like an engineer,” he said.

Yesterday’s fatality is the sixth workplace farming fatality since the start of 2010.

“We’ve seen ten workplace fatalities across all industries since the start of the year – six of these on farms. It’s clear that farming fatalities are over-represented in workplace fatality statistics,” Mr Krpan said.