| Demo buries volunteers in grain to show the quickness of danger |
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By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Farm accidents can happen in a split second.
Visitors to last week’s 31st annual Ag Expo, sponsored by the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) and held on the university’s East Lansing campus, saw just how quickly a mishap can occur, during twice-daily farm safety demonstrations that featured a grain bin accident simulation.
The demonstration, led by Jeff Doerr and Alan Esch of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety of North Iowa Community College in Peosta, presented a simulation in which a person was rescued after being trapped in a bin of corn.
“It only takes 15 seconds for a person to be covered waist-deep in grain,” Doerr said.
Engulfment can occur for a variety of reasons. Victims may be caught in flowing grain in a bin, often causing submersion. Grain that is out of condition or spoiled because of weather conditions can form a crust on a bin of grain. The crusted grain creates a fall hazard because its condition creates pockets or forms large chunks of grain beneath the surface.
The surface grain in the bin appears safe, but it is not, and farmers may fall through the crust and become entrapped in the grain beneath. The possibility is enhanced as grain is removed from a bin using an auger.
“Using an average size 10-inch auger, within 30 seconds, you’ll be almost completely entrapped if you’re a six-foot man,” Doerr said.
Farmers also risk entrapment when grain is out of condition and adheres to the bin’s walls, and the farmer becomes buried in an avalanche while removing the grain by hand.
“In real life, these accidents occur too often,” Doerr said. “Often, somebody goes into a grain bin by themselves and nobody knows they are there. It’s important to be cautious around grain. Knowing how to handle this situation can make the difference between life and death.”
When an incident occurs, Doerr said farmers should immediately shut off the flow of grain, turn on the bin’s fans and call 911 for rescue assistance.
Brittny Bommarito and Nichole Schaendorf volunteered to be “victims” during the demonstrations last Wednesday – Bommarito in the morning and Schaendorf in the afternoon. Each was secured in a harness, stepped into the top of a small bin of corn and were pulled down into the bin as corn was flowing out from the bottom.
“I feel myself going down. Oh, man,” Bommarito said. It only took a few seconds for the 18-year-old from Springport, Mich., to realize just how quickly a grain bin accident can occur.
After being submerged about waist-deep in corn, red steel panels were placed around each victim to form a rescue tube to protect her and to prevent further submersion.
“We’re building a lifeline around them,” Doerr said, as his demonstration partner, Alan Esch, secured the tube in place.
Once the interlocking tubes were secure, rescuers removed the grain using a portable vacuum, and the victim eventually was able to climb out of the tube.
“It was fine at first,” Bommarito said of her experience. “When they put me into the corn up to my waist, I tried to move my legs, but I couldn’t. I was stuck. Then I thought, ‘What if this doesn’t stop?’” she said.
Schaendorf, an agri-news reporter with the Michigan Farm Radio Network, had a similar experience in the afternoon. “It was kind of like playing in a sand pit,” she said. “The more corn they pulled out, the more pressure it put on me and it buckled my knees.”
The demonstration was sponsored by the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. MSU extension educators Phil Kaatz, Fred Springborn and Mike Staton also spoke about a variety of farm safety issues, including slow-moving vehicle signs, proper equipment maintenance and grain dust. |
| 7/28/2010 |
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