GRAIN BIN ENTRAPMENT FATALITY RATE
TOO HIGH The majority of entrapments are preventable, researchers say
By MARTHA BLUM – AgriNews Publications
URBANA — The majority of grain bin entrapments occur in the Midwest. “There have been over 1,100 grain entrapments since the 1960s,” said Salah Issa, assistant professor of agricultural and industrial safety and health at the University of Illinois. “Surprisingly, 28% involved youth under 21 and 20% adults over 60,” said Issa during a presentation at CropFlix, the 2021 Crop Management Conference. “We tend to see this mostly in bins of corn, soybeans and wheat.” Since the 1960s, Issa said, the fatality rate for grain bin entrapments is 67%. “In the last five years the fatality rate is at 42%, so the efforts we’re doing to educate farmers about the dangers is working, but 42% is still really high,” Issa said.
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