Another Iowan dies in grain bin; newspaper says more education needed on dangers

Most farm-related casualties have declined, but grain bin injuries and deaths remain steady, with 74 percent of reported entrapments resulting in fatalities. Within the past few weeks two Iowa men fell into grain bins. One survived. The other died. On Tuesday 30-year-old Brandon Mullen died in a grain-bin accident in Webster County, in the north-central part of the state. Two weeks ago, 23-year-old Arick Baker beat the odds, surviving five hours in a bin two counties east. (Register photo by Bryon Houlgrave: Bin where Mullen died) 

Thanks to university research and farm-safety groups, there is more knowledge than ever about grain entrapments, but that education hasn't resulted in fewer accidents, with the estimated number of entrapments rising from 24 in 2002 to 57 in 2010, the Des Moines Register notes in an editorial.

According to Charles Schwab, an Iowa State University professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, "Historic increases in grain prices and production explain the increased numbers of grain bin accidents ... but the numbers of entrapments and deaths also tend to rise with the moisture condition of the grain. That’s because wet grain tends to spoil, and clogs augers on the grain bin floor used to remove the grain. Workers in these situations who enter the bin to break up a clogged auger can be deceived by what looks like the surface if a crust has formed on the top of the grain. Voids can develop below that crust. The worker can fall through and quickly be buried by grain. Emergency techniques have been developed, such as building a dam to prevent grain from filling back as rescuers dig, but rescuers battle a powerful physical force in a race against time."

More education and increased safety measures -- including having someone outside the bin when someone is inside, and turning power off to the auger -- are needed to keep workers from taking unnecessary risks, the Register opines. "Unless or until better equipment is developed for managing grain bins, farm workers will put their lives at risk. Iowa and other Midwest states have stepped up education efforts, but the job obviously is never finished. In addition to continuing to warn farmers about the dangers, however, Iowa should do a better job of documenting the number of grain bin accidents. Action to improve grain bin safety will happen only when the total cost in human lives is known." (Read more)