Farmer engulfed and suffocated in soybeans during unloading of steel grain bin

Details

• Personal Author:
  Madsen, Murray D. ; Rautiainen, Risto
• Corporate Authors:
  Iowa Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Program (Iowa FACE) ; University of Iowa. College of Public Health. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Description:
  Mid-spring 2005, a 64-year-old lifelong farmer died in northeast Iowa when he was engulfed and suffocated in soybeans inside a cylindrical, steel grain bin on a farm he rented. He had entered the three-quarters full bin while the truck driver outside manned the high-capacity auger which conveyed beans from the bin to his semi-truck trailer. Concerned about the farmer's whereabouts when the flow of beans stopped, and unable to quickly find him, the trucker summoned emergency assistance. A Sheriff's Deputy was first on the scene in thirteen minutes, ahead of local volunteer fire/rescue personnel from two nearby towns. Area farmers responded, too, with torches to cut openings around the bin and assist in the hour-long rescue attempt. The farmer was pronounced dead at the scene. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Never enter a grain bin while it is being unloaded and never unload a grain bin while someone is inside the bin. 2. Apply safety signs along grain bin access ways and, if the bin must be entered, use confined space entry procedures and recommended equipment. 3. Store and maintain grain in proper condition and break up surface crusts or material sticking to bin walls from outside the bin.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-processes Agricultural-workers Grain-elevators Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 7 Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Agriculture ; Confined Space
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE05IA020
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043386
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-101814
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 05IA020, 2008 Dec ; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1992/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0edf7b2a5bf27440d956bf21a2648d93c6a94d6c14f3ef9630217cf904caa2f8a87a20960e6c427d93de086e2fe301ff9e2cfb3bf25cf58e19a11bfb6ff68bd3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165156/cdc_165156_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 281.66 KB ]