NIOSH alert: request for assistance in preventing scalping and other severe injuries from farm machinery.

were scalped when their hair became entangled around the inadequately guarded rotating drivelines or shaft of farm machinery driven by power takeoffs (PTOs). Such entanglement of hair, clothing, or body parts kills and injures many farm workers each year. The recommendations In this Alert will help prevent these entanglement Injuries and deaths. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) therefore requests the assistance of county extension agents, editors of trade journals, agricultural associations, and equipment manufacturers in bringing these recommendations to the attention of farm owners, workers, and family members at risk.