The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center, established in 1996, is part of a vital national infrastructure dedicated to the prevention of illness and injury among agricultural producers, workers, and their families. We work to achieve this goal through partnerships with key stakeholders in the Northwest region (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington). We also work collaboratively with other regional centers to formulate national programs and policies in agricultural health and safety. Our Center is housed institutionally within the University of Washington's School of Public Health, the only such school in the four state region that we serve. Since the Center's inception, we have worked to engage the three major agricultural sectors in the Northwest: farming, forestry, and fishing. Our Center reflects a cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and geographically diverse set of initiatives. Our efforts focus primarily on populations not well represented in current research, including hired laborers, migrant/seasonal workers, women, and children. The primary goals of the PNASH Center are to: ?Conduct high quality research through cohesive, coordinated and synergist activities;?Translate scientific discoveries into practical applications;?Exert a sustained and transformative influence on agricultural health and safety in our. region;?Translate and transfer our findings using accessible and appropriate methods to the farming, fishing and forestry agricultural sectors in the Pacific Northwest;?Provide opportunities for professional learning and development, including undergraduate and graduate students experiential learning, continuing education, investigator mentoring and academic exchange;?Engage our stakeholders in Center activities through active partnerships and collaborations.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing rank among the most hazardous industries in the US. CFOI data for 2005- 2009 indicate that overall fatality rates for workers in agriculture (farming, ranching, forestry, logging, and fishing) continue to be at least -10 times greater than U.S. workers in general. Fatality rates for parts of the sector (commercial fishing, logging) are often much higher (up to 50 times greater than U.S. workers in general). Overall fatality rates in agriculture typically exceed those for occupations traditionally known as dangerous.
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