Despite training farmers and first responders about the risks of going into grain bins, serious incidents occur regularly. William Field, Extension safety leader with Purdue Cooperative Extension, believes changing the focus of safety training is part of the answer.
“We aren’t addressing the core issue,” said Field. “The training isn’t always evidence-based. It’s aimed at what’s perceived to be the problem and there isn’t a lot of consistency between trainings. We need to address that issue.”
Although training efforts have been well reasoned, Field believes some resources have been misapplied. “We need to return to focusing on prevention and not response,” he said. “Fire departments and others need to do [rescue] training, but if we’re going to change the trajectory of these cases, we have to focus on prevention.”
Farmers often enter grain bins to manually dislodge the results of out-of-condition grain that is hard and moldy, usually with a crust. “Due to poor storage, aeration and drying strategies, grain forms huge masses that can weight tons and are hanging on the wall,” said Field. “I’ve seen several incidences where grain was hanging on the side of the wall, and when they tried to break it up, it buried people.”
Careful management can help prevent out-of-condition grain. If moisture is over 14%, grain will begin to spoil within three or four months, especially in humid areas. In some cases, low prices have forced farmers to hang onto corn for a long time, waiting for prices to improve. Farmers are sometimes forced to sell grain at prices lower than production costs. This means they’re moving grain that has been stored for a long time, which results in incidents.
Insect infestations can also contribute to poor grain quality and the subsequent risk of grain bin incidents. Many insect control products have been taken off the market, resulting in more poor-quality grain. Other issues include inadequate aeration, cooling or drying due to the cost of running a conditioning system.
Poor-quality grain that forms shelves and clumps can be the result of re-wetting of grain due to leakage in the roof, eaves or ventilation hoods. If ventilation fans are used improperly during humid conditions, moisture is introduced.
The odor of the air coming from a bin ventilation system can be a clue to the onset of grain spoilage. If there’s a sour or moldy odor, or if the air is warm, there’s a good chance grain is deteriorating. Spoiled grain will never get better – it will continue to deteriorate. Spoiled grain can be removed with a large vacuum system, but the per-bushel price is often too low to justify the cost. Field suggested addressing the problem immediately to avoid further damage.
New bins have sweep auger systems that remove most of the grain, but there’s still a need to sweep out residuals and make sure there’s no insect infestation. “If there are insects, you’re probably going to use a licensed commercial applicator to use the correct material,” said Field. “Insect infestation can happen rapidly if grain is left, resulting in contaminated grain. Remove most of the grain with a sweep auger system and you don’t have to go in.”
In some cases, a farm has one sweep auger and moves it from bin to bin. This requires a person to enter the bin to attach the drive heads in the center of the bin. “Someone will be in there and there’s going to be grain all around the person,” said Field. “Getting as much grain out before anyone goes in is important.”
Although safety regulations apply to commercial grain storage facilities, such standards don’t apply to farms. Photo courtesy of Mark Muir
Although every good grain bin safety class includes instruction on the proper use of a harness, this might not be the gold standard. Field related a study that found harnesses had little effect on reducing the likelihood of a fall. Some of the incidents were due to the harness being improperly attached to a lifeline or not being fully buckled up.
“There’s also the issue of entanglement,” said Field. “What if you’re running a sweep auger and you’re attached to a lifeline? I have reservations about lifelines being an effective tool, but the law requires it for every commercial facility.”
Public policy changes are needed because the current legal requirements for workers apply only to grain storage at commercial facilities and not on farms, feedlots or seed processing operations. “At some point we’re going to have to deal with the inequity between farm and commercial storage,” he said. “There’s a disadvantage to the commercial side to have to implement those preventive measures and farms not having to.”
People feel strongly about having quick access to a grain rescue tube as the answer to saving lives, but Field isn’t convinced. “In about 60% of the cases, the victims are dead upon arrival,” he said. “It’s hard to prove that grain rescue tubes are saving lives. They may help extricate people faster, but other measures are important. One option is expediting response time and reducing the exposure time. As many as 30 people have entered a grain bin to try to dig someone out, and that’s putting first responders at unusual risk.”
A problem that’s currently being addressed is agritourism farms that feature grain pits for children to play in. Children enjoy playing in grain, and some pits are deep enough to allow burying a child in corn. Whether the corn is kept in a repurposed grain bin or a sandbox frame, this attraction conveys the message that it’s okay to play in grain.
Farm children sometimes play in loaded grain wagons, which is a dangerous pastime. “Children simply shouldn’t be in grain bins,” said Field. “What troubles me is we have children who are caught in grain wagons and end up with a dislocated shoulder because people panic and try to pull them out. You can’t just pull someone out.”
Worse, there’s an activity known as “grain bin diving” where someone goes up to the top of the bin and dives into the nice, dry grain – for fun.
Field doesn’t discourage grain bin safety training by any stretch but said it should be done thoughtfully. Rather than using volunteers for demonstrations, he suggested using a mannequin that weighs the same as the average adult male.
“One-third of adult firefighters can’t go through a standard 24-inch hole at the top of a grain bin,” said Field. “We need to change structures – the original grain bin ladder was designed for 180 pounds. We’ve had incidents where ladders have failed. We need to focus on the circumstances today.”
by Sally Colby
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