Grain (corn, soybeans, wheat, etc.) is a big part of the local economy here in Indiana and Illinois. For instance, Indiana is home to two of the largest grain farms in the United States: (1) the Newtown Farm Service and (2) Etna Elevator and George’s Grain Farm in Etna Green.
Profit Margins Are Tight for Grain Industry
These grain products are a big part of our area’s farming industry. Farms, both family farms and industrialized farms, operate throughout both states. Farming is a big deal here. According to the USDA, Illinois surpasses Indiana in commodity revenues, with both states ranking in the Top Ten for Cash Receipts: Illinois ranks 5th and Indiana 10th in the country.
Farmers have been having a tough time here for the past couple of years, after seeing rising farm incomes through 2014. Demand for grains went down; grain got stored by our farmers (corn, soybeans, wheat). Economists forecast that 2018 crop revenues are going to be lower than 2017, since the 2017 crops will be sold in 2018.
Profit margins are tight. See, “Indiana’s agricultural outcome for 2018,” written by Chris Hurt, Ph.D. for the Indiana Business Review.
Farm Accidents: Grain Engulfment, Entrapment, Explosion, Falls, Toxins
Grain must be collected and stored on-site at the farm before it is distributed for packaging, marketing, and sale. Grain bins, used to store huge volumes of grain crops, are necessary – and dangerous.
- Explosions
Both the grain itself as well as the dust which arises from the grain can catch fire. Grain can explode. (Watch an Indiana grain bin explosion here, caught by workers in a YouTube video).
- Engulfments
The danger of dealing with grain crops doesn’t end there. Grain engulfment deaths are a real risk for farmers of corn, soybean, wheat, or other grain crops. Here, the accident victim horrifically suffocates, actually drowning in the grain.
- Entrapments
Entrapment differs from engulfment because the victim is not completely submerged in the grain. Victims of grain entrapment accidents are left with their head or torso above the grain line. Entrapments can also be deadly, however, as the pressure of the weight from the grain can cause serious bodily harm to the victim.
- Falls
Falls are a danger to those working within the confined spaces necessary for dealing with grain crops. Workers are at risk of falling from heights into storage structures, or falling away from the structures onto a lower level below.
- Toxins
Toxins are another danger facing anyone working with grains. The environment surrounding the grain operations can be toxic, filled with poisonous gases as well as prohibiting the worker from having sufficient oxygen, even without being engulfed or entrapped in the grain itself.
Causes of Serious or Fatal Farm Grain Accidents
There are a variety of reasons for sudden grain accidents to happen at any size facility. Grain (or grain dust) can explode because of things like:
- Flawed or faulty ventilation
- Failure to maintain the area allowing dust to accumulate (build-up)
- Failure to train grain workers on proper practices in working with large amounts of grain
- Failure to have proper loading procedures
- Defective design in grain bins
- Failure to maintain grain bins
- Failure to repair grain bins
Victims of Grain Engulfment or Grain Entrapment can be killed in grain accidents caused by:
- Mistake by supervisor
- Flawed safety procedures
- Failure to maintain or repair work site or equipment
- Failure to follow safety protocols.
How Serious is the Risk of Being Hurt or Killed in a Grain Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
From Purdue University, we know that in 2016 victims of grain accidents were involved in:
- 29 documented grain entrapment cases
- 11 falls into or from grain storage structures
- 10 asphyxiations due to toxic environments
- 8 equipment entanglements that occurred inside agricultural confined spaces.
As the current economy encourages increasing storage of grain crops as grain production lags behind past years, there are a great number of grain bins and grain facilities storing tons of corn, soybean, and wheat crops here in Indiana and Illinois. This exacerbates the risk of serious injury or death to those working in or near grain bins and grain storage.
National Grain Industry Safety Week
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), among others, are sponsoring April’s focus on Grain Industry Safety with a campaign to increase the safety surrounding those who work in or near grain storage facilities.
OSHA Regulations
While OSHA has established regulations for employers to follow in protecting grain workers from being hurt or killed in grain accidents, the reality is that too many working in the grain industry continue to be seriously hurt or killed while working in jobs dealing with grain storage and grain handling.
These include federal regulations that:
- Prohibit workers from walking down grain and similar practices where walking on grain is intended to make it flow: 1910.272(g)(1)(iv).
- Prohibit worker entry onto or below a bridging condition, or where grain is built up on the side of the bin: 1910.272(g)(6).
- Train all workers for the specific hazardous work operations they are to perform when entering and working inside of grain bins: 1910.272(e).
- Provide each with a body harness with a lifeline that is positioned and is of sufficient length to prevent a worker from sinking further than waist-deep in grain: 1910.272(g)(2).
- Provide rescue equipment, such as winch systems, that are specifically suited for rescue from the bin: 1910.272(g)(4).
- Station an observer who is equipped to provide assistance and perform rescue operations outside the bin: 1910.272(g)(3).
- Test the air within a bin for oxygen content and the presence of hazardous gases: 1910.272(g)(1)(iii).
Employers seeking to protect and secure the safety of their workers often face additional expenses and costs in doing so. As profits have fallen over the past few years in the grain industry, employers in Indiana and Illinois may fall prey to the temptation to cut corners on safety in order to maximize profits. The result will be grain workers at greater risk of severe injury or death.
Anyone working near grain storage has a very dangerous job. The risk of death by engulfment (suffocation by grain drowning); entrapment (crushed); explosion; falls; or being poisoned by toxins is high. Please be careful out there!
