Deaths, Injuries Among Midwest Grain Workers Hit Record

Accidents in grain silos, storage bins and other facilities killed and injured a record number of workers through October this year, a study by Purdue University showed. The study showed 46 deaths and/or injuries so far in 2010, exceeding the previous record of 42 documented cases in 1993 from 16 U.S. states.

Of the 46 incidents through October, 25 were fatal. Illinois had 10 cases of death or injury, followed by Minnesota with eight. Iowa and Wisconsin reported five cases each. The high toll was due to the poor quality of the corn crop harvested last year due to rain damage, Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program said.

Many of the injuries and deaths resulted from accidents inside storage bins. Workers entered silos to free up grain stuck to the wall and got sucked into the pile. The study said 70 percent of these ‘entrapment’ cases occur on farms, and 30 percent at commercial grain facilities.

Since documentation of such cases began in 1964, there have been 800 cases of fatalities and injuries.

The commercial grain industry is regulated by standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The rules are designed to prevent most of these cases from occurring in commercial facilities. However, not everyone complies and farms are exempt from the rules.