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IMAGE: The research revealed that nearly a third of ag-related injuries involve youths. Small farms are family-oriented businesses, and often they have all their family members helping out. And the children. view more
Credit: Linda Fetzer, Penn State
A new study by Penn State researchers, who looked at emergency room admissions across the U.S. over a recent five-year period in a novel way, suggests that the agriculture industry is even more dangerous than previously believed.
The research revealed that from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2019, more than 60,000 people were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal, agricultural-related injuries. Significantly, nearly a third of those injured were youths, according to study author Judd Michael, Nationwide Insurance Professor of Agricultural Safety and Health and professor of agricultural and biological engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences.
Surprising number of injuries from used pallets, researchers note
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Injuries arising from secondary uses of pallets in store displays and home DIY projects are revealed in a new Penn State study. (W. Carter photo)
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Used shipping pallets – the raw material for a million home DIY projects, kindling for countless fire in home fireplaces and the bases for in-store displays everywhere – sent more than 30,000 people to emergency rooms over a recent 5-year period.
About 400 million new wooden pallets are produced annually in the U.S., with about 2 billion in use in the shipping chain at any given time.
How much cypress is really in cypress mulch bags?
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
Posted Dec 11, 2020
Penn State researchers say they have a new method to determine whether the wood in a bag of mulch is what the label claims it is.
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Penn State University researchers claim that consumers buying bags of cypress mulch might not be getting what they think.
Using a new method of analyzing wood, the researchers found that bags of cypress mulch might contain only 30 to 60 percent of cypress wood – and in some cases, none at all.
“Some of the largest mulch manufacturers have been accused of intentionally misleading consumers about the species mix,” said Dr. Judd Michael, a professor of Ag Safety and Health in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “It is difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to know whether the product is the species listed on the packaging.”