Kentucky Injury Prevention
and Research Center Publicaions

Outdoor Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Attributed to Tractor Exhaust

V. Brandt

Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication is a common cause of reported unintentional fatal poisonings in the United States. From 1979 through 1988, an average of 1,140 deaths per year were attributed to unintentional CO poisoning. Most of these deaths resulted from exposures in enclosed spaces. In 1997 a case of carbon monoxide poisoning was investigated in a farmer in Kentucky resulting from exposure to exhaust from a tractor in an open field.

In June 1997, a 37-year-old female who had been working in a field for 5 hours was admitted to a Kentucky hospital emergency department (ED) because of CO inhalation, dehydration, and heat exhaustion. A nurse from the Community Partners for Healthy Farming (CPHF) Project was notified of the incident, and an investigation was conducted by the CPHF nurse, staff from the University of Kentucky, and CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

During the investigation a thorough occupational history was taken and environmental Co sampling on the farm tractor was performed. Results detected CO levels of an average of 477 parts per million (ppm) during a 15-minute sampling period. Four other gasoline-powered tractors with comparable exhaust configurations were similarly tested. Fifteen-minute CO levels were 38, 364, 507, and 706 ppm.

The CPHF project and NIOSH will continue active surveillance for similar cases and will monitor CO emissions on a larger sample of tractors with rear-directed and upward-directed exhaust systems. Statewide prevention efforts have begun to target health-care professionals, poison control centers, equipment manufacturers, and agricultural safety organizations.

Comments to Mark Schneider, Last Modified: July 9, 2001 by JP
Copyright ©2000, University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center
Terms, Conditions & Privacy Statement