Manure, Toxic Gases and Human Health
2018
- Biological Systems Engineering, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Project Media
This article is based directly on a recently published article that appeared in the Center for
Disease Control’s journal: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) by Shutske, et
al (2017). See full reference at the end of this document.
Original adapted article title: Notes from the Field: Death of a Farm Worker After Exposure
to Manure Gas in an Open Air Environment — Wisconsin, August 2016
On August 15, 2016, at approximately 6:30 a.m., a previously healthy male employee of a
Wisconsin beef farm was found dead near the edge of an outdoor 60,400 square foot (1.4
acre) manure storage basin. The basin was approximately 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep and
nearly full. The victim, aged 29 years, was discovered by another worker; the coroner was
notified at 6:50 a.m., and he pronounced the victim dead at the scene. Thirteen dead cattle
were discovered in an adjoining pen; three others were struggling to stand and were
euthanized. The owner of the farm reported that at 3:00 a.m., the victim had used a tractorpowered
agitator to agitate the manure,2/ which a contractor was scheduled to pump and
spread on cropland later that morning. The last contact from the victim was a social media
post at 4:10 a.m. At the time he was discovered, he was approximately 3 feet downslope
from the rear of the tractor, which was running…