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Purdue Ag: Confined farm space injuries up in 2014
 

By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A new study shows U.S. agricultural confined space-related injuries and deaths, including grain engulfment and entrapments, rose slightly in 2014.

With no fewer than 70 cases documented, study authors with Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program noted in their annual summary that grain bin accidents, asphyxiations, entanglements, falls, fires and electrocutions in and around all forms of agricultural confined spaces rose by 4 percent from 2013, when 67 cases were recorded.

"We had a slight bump in 2014 in the number of incidents that occurred," reported William E. Field, a professor in agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue. "We heard more reports in some areas of immature grain that that was harvested, maybe to meet some contracts, and was dried very quickly. This produces more cracking of grain and opens the door for insect infestation and out-of-condition grain.

"Our studies have found there is an almost perfect correlation between out-of-condition grain and increased incidents. In most of the cases in 2014, they were related to the movement of damaged corn or crusted corn."

Approximately 54 percent of the 70 reported incidents in 2014 directly involved grain entrapments or engulfment, Field continued. "Often (victims) are in a bin with a pole or PVC pipe trying to break up crusted grain, and they keep the auger running. Once they do that and break up the grain, it starts to flow and they are quickly sucked in or buried in the grain."

The 2014 reported cases included 38 grain entrapments, 12 falls, eight equipment entanglements, nine fire-related injuries and three asphyxiations. Asphyxiations constituted the deadliest threat, with a reported 67 percent fatality rate.

Since 2002, the five-year average of documented cases has increased steadily from 36.8 cases per year to an average of 61.2 cases in 2009, 70.8 in 2010 and 74.8 in 2011. One hundred individual cases were documented by Field and research assistants at Purdue during 2010, earning it the distinction of "peak" year for reported ag confined-space injuries and fatalities.

"2010 was our peak year due to the harvest of 2009 when we had a lot of corn going into storage at commercial storage facilities and on farms," Field explained. "There was a big problem with out-of-condition grain; some of it was immature and harvested too wet. There are a lot of possible issues when you try to dry down wet or immature corn too quickly, and 2009 was an example of that."

Last year, the states with the most documented fatal and non-fatal ag confined space injuries and deaths were Minnesota and Ohio, with nine. However, seven of the reported Ohio incidents occurred during a single event in which the workers were injured while attempting to extinguish a fire within a grain storage structure.

Five cases apiece were reported in 2014 in Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin, while Michigan, Iowa and Pennsylvania noted four cases each. Twenty states reported ag-related injuries and deaths in 2014, three states fewer than in 2013, according to the study. The oldest victim was 81; the youngest, 5. The average age of victims was 45.

The study, which is based on data gathered, documented and entered into Purdue’s Agricultural Confined Space Incident Database (PACSID), is compiled and assimilated by Field and members of Purdue’s Ag Safety and Health Program. For the 2014 study, he was assisted by graduate research assistants Salah Issa, M.S.E. and Yuan-Hsin Cheng.

The report comes with a caveat: It is generally considered to represent only about 70 percent of the actual number of agricultural confined-space injuries and deaths in the country each year.

"There is no central depository for this information," said Field. "We accumulate data from public awareness events, news clippings, law enforcement, firefighters, litigation cases, extension offices and other forms of media. Sadly, we have a lot of clippings from Farm World from over the years."

To read the full 2014 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities issued by Purdue’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program, visit www.agconfinedspaces.org

5/27/2015