From the Farm Safety and Health Program Mailbag
Michele Schermann,
Minnesota Farm Safety & Health Extension Educator
Stacey Madsen,
Minnesota Community Program Specialist
Each week, we receive a variety of questions and
information requests that span a variety of agricultural
health and safety topics and issues. Because many of our
questions have common themes and readers of the Engineering
Notes newsletter may get similar questions, we thought it
would be important to share some of the more interesting
inquiries along with our response and references to
resources for answering these questions. This letter is real
but has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Dear Farm Safety & Health Program,
My husband found some tree and plant fertilizer
spikes from last year that had been exposed to water. He
proceeded to break the spikes up without gloves or
protection and spread them in our tulip bed. Almost
immediately he became ill with a weird sensation all over
his body…was it the fertilizer being absorbed
through his skin? Should we be concerned? Or, was it just
a coincidence that this happened? Thank for your help
with this as I am so worried.
Dear Mrs. Smith—
Your husband should talk to his physician as soon as
possible about the exposure and his symptoms. Your husband
should bring the empty package of fertilizer spikes with him
and any other information packaged with the product. The
packaging will have information related to the
chemical’s formulation and will help his MD make a
diagnosis. If his symptoms are unrelated to the exposure,
your husband and his doctor need to determine if there are
other causes for these symptoms.
The packaging may have a toll-free number on it for you
to call with questions. You can also call your local poison
control center, generally listed in the front section of
your phone book. Again, if you call one of these resources,
you will need the label and packaging information. You can
also find material safety data sheets for many chemicals,
including most fertilizers and pesticides on the web at
msds.pdc.cornell.edu.
If you no longer have the packaging, you should describe the
product as best you can.
Your husband should wear an appropriate pair of
protective gloves the next time he handles dry chemicals.
The correct type of glove for the chemical will be listed on
the label. With most types of chemicals, including
fertilizers and pesticides, the appropriate glove will be
made from a synthetic plastic or rubberized material. Do not
wear leather or cloth gloves, because powders and
granular-type chemicals can be absorbed by leather or enter
fabric gloves through the woven fabric. He should also wear
a two-strap dust mask to avoid inhalation of chemicals.
It’s a good idea to also ask a doctor about other
concerns any time you need to wear a dust mask or other type
of respirator. Masks and gloves can be purchased from safety
supply stores or on-line from a variety of safety supply
companies. Your husband’s clothes should be properly
laundered to avoid exposing others to the chemicals. Iowa
State has an on-line publication about washing clothes
contaminated with pesticide residue: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs2/ia00600.html
—Michele & Stacey
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