Taking Slurry Safety Seriously

Slurry has been a factor in a number of serious incidents on farms, including fatal incidents when individuals are overcome by slurry gases. These incidents can lead to multiple fatalities when people attempt to rescue someone who has been overcome by fumes in a confined space and then become overcome themselves.

What is slurry and why it’s dangerous?

Slurry is a mixture of animal waste, water, bedding, and washings. When stored, it decomposes and generates gases; these gases can be toxic or flammable themselves or can displace oxygen in the atmosphere, leading to a risk of asphyxiation. Handling and storing slurry also creates risks of engulfment, falls, machinery injury, and environmental pollution.

Safe working practices

The HSE in Northern Ireland recently issued a reminder to workers in the agriculture sector about the hazards of working with and mixing slurry.

Mixing slurry can be a particularly hazardous task; while some harmful gases are released as slurry decomposes, many of those gases will remain trapped in the slurry mix until it is disturbed, for example by mixing, at which point they can be released rapidly. The gas is generally given off in large volumes very soon after mixing starts in any area of the tank.  The first 30 minutes are the most dangerous.

It is important that people stay out of buildings where slurry is being mixed and that the area be left to ventilate naturally for at least 30 minutes after the pump has been stopped. No one should enter the building until sufficient time has passed for any harmful gases to disperse.

Any work that involves entering slurry tanks should ideally only be carried out by specialist contractors with suitable controls in place. Filtering face masks are not sufficient for slurry tank entry; anyone entering a tank will typically require an air-fed breathing apparatus and to be connected by a harness and lifeline to two people outside the tank.

It is important that any work involving or around slurry is properly planned with suitable precautions in place; for example:

• Ensuring openings are covered to prevent falls into slurry tanks
• Ensuring adequate ventilation
• Ensuring power take-offs are suitably guarded
• Providing suitable protective clothing, washing hands and covering any cuts
• Fitting and maintaining guardrails, anti-slip surfaces, etc.

If you have any questions or would like support with managing issues at your workplace, please speak to your usual contact or get in touch using the form below.