Worker Fatalities In Tree Care Industry

by Barbara Mulhem

A ground worker on a tree trimming crew heard a large poplar branch break following a strong gust of wind. The branch, approximately 15 inches in diameter and 40 feet long, broke limbs from several other trees as it fell 75 feet to the ground. The worker tried to reach a place of safety, but was struck in the head by the falling branch and died instantly. In another incident, a tree worker was trimming a tall pine tree with a pole saw from the elevated bucket of a truck-mounted aerial lift. A large section of the tree suddenly toppled, causing the bucket to break and detach from the boom. The bucket tipped over, and the worker fell nearly 45 feet to the ground. He died on the way to the hospital. In still another incident, the owner of a small tree care company was in a tree trimming branches, then lowering them to the ground. It was raining and had been most of the day. He threw a branch down to his ground worker, but it struck a 7,200 volt power line and bounced back toward his chest. He grabbed the branch when it struck him, was electrocuted in the hand and the chest and died.

These are just three examples of the numerous fatalities involving tree care work that occur each year—fatalities that can, in many cases, be prevented by proper training, according to Dave Scharfenberger, president of the Tree Care Industry Association. “The biggest issue in training is getting people to talk—getting them to ask questions. We push not just talking about accidents but also about near misses. Sometimes when our newer people talk about their near misses, our more senior people can say, ‘That happened to me and here's what I did.’ The best part of our safety meetings are the discussions about near misses,” he says.

Sam Steel, senior research associate in agricultural engineering at Penn State University and a longtime safety specialist, adds: “Take a lesson from the close calls at the work site. Update your tailgate training topics to include dealing with a rash of close calls that may become the next serious incident(s).”

The Data
Unfortunately, many tree workers never have a chance to experience a near miss incident—instead, they are killed on the job. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is taking a close look at traumatic injuries and fatalities within the Landscape Services industry. Landscape Services includes approximately 924,000 landscaping and groundskeeping workers, 111,000 supervisors, 28,300 tree trimmers and pruners, and 22,000 other workers in related fields. NIOSH’s Traumatic Injury Prevention for Landscape Workers project notes that although workers in the Landscape Services industry make up less than 1 percent of the total work force in the United States, they experience 3.5 percent of the occupational fatalities. NIOSH has developed a new English/Spanish fact sheet aimed at educating employers, supervisors and employees about the risks.

The fact sheet draws on public U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Information cited in the fact sheet, entitled “Fatal Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers,” includes the following:

• From 2003 through 2006, 288 fatalities occurred while operating tools or machinery during tree trimming or removal operations.
• Causes of these 288 deaths included falls from heights, being struck by falling objects, and electrocutions.

Information was not available for NIOSH to determine whether the persons who died were employed by tree care companies or by other landscape services companies.

Among NIOSH's recommendations are that each employer:

• Develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive safety program that includes written rules and safe work procedures.
• Conduct an initial and daily job site survey to identify all hazards and implement appropriate controls.
• Provide specific training for hazards such as power lines and other sources of electricity, tree trimming and felling, falls from heights, roadway vehicle operations, and hand and portable power tool use.

The fact sheet also includes links to additional free resources on tree trimming and removal safety as well as other related topics. One such resource is a NIOSH alert, “Preventing Falls and Electrocutions During Tree Trimming,” which can be accessed at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/92-106/. To access the new NIOSH fact sheet, “Fatal Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers in English and Spanish” (NIOSH Publication No. 2008-144), visit NIOSH's website at www.cdc.gov/niosh. A second English and Spanish fact sheet, “Non-fatal Traumatic Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers,” should also soon be available.

Training Is Key
Both Scharfenberger, whose company's record for no lost-time incidents was 2,243 days, and Steel believe that training is key in order to prevent both traumatic injuries and fatalities in the tree care industry. Scharfenberger offers the following recommendations:

• Ensure that you conduct thorough job site hazard assessments. This starts with the salesperson looking at the tree. The person will be looking for electrical hazards, decay, root rot problems, any large limbs that might fall off. Yet just because that certified arborist has looked at the tree, it doesn't mean the foreman or climber won't also assess the area. Look for electrical lines, weak wood or other damage to the tree. Also look for animals in the tree.
• Train your workers in electrical hazards, but also undergo specific training to be line-clearance qualified.
• Supply the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and train workers on its use.
• Although an employee may verbally indicate his or her skills performing tree work, have the person demonstrate tree climbing and tree pruning capabilities under controlled conditions before you turn the employee loose in a large tree.
• Document in writing that safety training took place. For workers who cannot write their names on training documentation sheets, their signatures or ‘marks' should be witnessed by a fellow worker or supervisor.

[Reprinted with permission from the November 2008 issue of Tree Care Industry Magazine]