Above: Purdue student in grain bin rescue simulator.
I recently re-watched the 2016 video entitled, “Stop, Think, & Live!” a work about grain entrapment, produced by Posey County Farm Bureau, Inc., and housed on Purdue University’s Agricultural Confined Spaces website https://www.purdue.edu/engineering/ABE/agconfinespaces/health-safety-videos/ (see the full video with the heading, “Anatomy of an Entrapment”). I have to say that I was personally moved (again) and prompted to write this article. While the 2024 crop is safely in the bins, farmers should ensure the grain does not go out of condition. Entering a bin with a crusty layer of wet, moldy grain could lead to a grain entrapment, potentially fatal.
Purdue Extension farm safety experts say that a common cause of grain bin accidents occurs when wet grain forms a flat crust on the surface as it settles. As bins are unloaded, the crust stays intact while the grain below is removed. Farmers may be deceived by what appears to be a full bin, but the crust can collapse and entrap them.
Wet grain also can form crusts along the sides of grain bins. Growers should never enter bins and attempt to dislodge the grain with a prod. This, too, can collapse and entrap them.
The experts say that up to 90 percent of grain entrapments could be eliminated if farmers did not work alone or enter grain bins when unloading augers are running.
With a 12-inch auger, it only takes 15 seconds to be in up to your waist, 30 seconds for the grain to be over your head, and within one minute you can be 6 feet under the surface. It's nearly physically impossible to get out in time, and digging around when trapped causes more grain to flow down.
When growers are out near grain bins, they should consider having one person at the top of the grain bin who can see everything and one person on the ground to make emergency phone calls.
A recent study (Riedel and Field, 2011) of over 800 grain storage and handling-related entrapments reported, “Approximately half of all documented entrapments have historically resulted in a fatality with the balance requiring assistance in extrication from the grain mass.”
Starting about 2007, commercially available grain rescue tubes gave first responders an important new tool for grain entrapment rescue operations. Many township fire departments have since acquired these tools and trained their personnel on proper use.
Purdue Extension safety experts recommend never entering a bin when unloading equipment is running, whether or not grain is flowing from the outlet. It’s better still to lock out the control circuit.
In addition to shutting down equipment, it takes about five minutes to replace guards that have to be removed to change frayed belts on augers and other machinery, but it could save a grower's life.
If a grain entrapment has occurred, call 911 immediately, don’t wait!
Prevention is the best safety measure. As I stated earlier, continually monitor your grain this winter to ensure it does not go out of condition. Also, never work alone. Stop, think, and live!