Agriculture can be a dangerous industry, but a lot of hazards can be prevented with training and education. Each year, AgriSafe hosts multiple webinars during National Farm Safety & Health Week (which takes place in September), and one topic they covered this year was grain-related entrapment.
Purdue University has been monitoring grain-entrapments since the 1970s, through Purdue’s Ag Safety & Health Program.
For more than 50 years, Purdue has documented 1,400 cases of grain entrapment throughout the U.S. Almost all of the cases involved male workers, with the most occurrences in Indiana and Iowa. Incidents most frequently occur with out-of-condition grain – primarily corn. Out-of-condition grain can be caused by various management errors such as improper moisture content, lack of insect control and inadequate aeration.
Bill Field, a professor in ag and biological engineering at Purdue, explained how data support that there have been “more fatal cases than non-fatal.” However, Field believes 30% of all grain-related entrapment cases go unreported, with most of these being non-fatal events.
The distribution of grain-related entrapments across the U.S. Submitted image
Injured workers may not report events due to fear of embarrassment, or simply not knowing the importance of reporting. No matter the reason, Field is working toward improving the reporting rate overall.
The Purdue Ag Safety & Health Program has conducted training for over 15,000 first responders focusing on how to handle grain entrapment situations. In 2014, there was a drastic increase in the number of first responder grain entrapment training programs across the country, but the results weren’t as expected. Rather than declining, the number of incidents has remained stable since 2014.
Field had been looking at ways to improve their training programs. He realized “we’re really not addressing the core issue.” These programs need to focus not only on how to respond to grain entrapments, but also on how to prevent the incidents from occurring in the first place.
He is looking to see an improvement in the consistency of the training programs (both in frequency and material presented) and in regulations to ensure no responders are put in danger during demonstrations.
Farmers, both old and new, need to be taught the dangers of falling grain and the unlikelihood of those beneath it of ever getting out. One simple but effective preventative measure would be not working alone, that way someone is around to call authorities.
Field looks forward to seeing some design changes with bulk grain bins to make them safer to work in and around.
If anyone is interested in educating their community about the dangers of grain entrapment, he encourages you to do it. Visit agconfinedspaces.org for resources about agricultural confinement and entrapment.
by Kelsi Devolve
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