Occupational Health and Safety In 

World

The Washington Potato Co. facility in Warden still smolders the next morning and smoke fills the air after a fire broke out in a potato dehydrator the afternoon of Jan. 21, prompting a response from fire departments across Grant and neighboring Adams counties.

The Washington Potato Company potato dehydration plant in Warden, Washington, was destroyed by a massive fire overnight. The fire caused the immediate evacuation of about a third of nearby town of Warden (pop: 2700) for several hours due to concerns that an ammonia tank located in the plant could burst.

The J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Grand Forks has closed for two weeks, beginning on Thursday, April 23.

In the United Kingdom, restrictions on the use of products containing Maleic Hydrazide (MH) - used to control volunteers and to suppress sprouting during storage - have been removed following a review by the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) of the HSE.

Heat-related illness is one of the most common maladies to befall outdoor workers, particularly in agricultural settings.

One of the snack factories of Agro Tech Foods limited, a subsidiary of Conagra Brands in India, was destroyed by fire Sunday.

An equipment fire at the Simplot potato processing plant in Grand Forks, ND late last Wednesday, forced employees to evacuate and caused an estimated USD 150.000 of damage.

The weather has not been kind to potato growers in the United Kingdom. AHDB potatoes offers some helpful tips and guidance to make it a successful potato growing season nevertheless.

An ammonia gas leak from a cold storage plant near Agra (UP, India) has caused damage to potato crops across four nearby villages, affecting some 500 farmers in the area.

Potato Farmers are reminded to consider safety during harvest, since incidents during the potato harvesting season remain a common cause of serious and fatal injury.

Belgian metalworking specialist Burgmetaal has installed 20 lifting systems at Lutosa to facilitate the handling and exchange of the (bag) forming shoulders for the VFFS packaging machines.