Citation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 1996; 45(39): 837-841.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8927002

Abstract

Suffocation in flowing grain is the most common cause of death associated with grain storage structures in the United States: during 1985-1989, suffocation accounted for 49 grain- and silage-handling-associated fatalities. During 1992-1995, nine persons in Minnesota died in separate incidents from asphyxiation after becoming engulfed in flowing grain within a grain storage structure. The Minnesota Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program (FACE), a program sponsored by CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), was notified of the incidents by the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MN-OSHA), Minnesota Extension Services, and a newspaper clipping service. This report describes the investigation of three of these incidents by FACE, summarizes surveillance for grain bin suffocations during 1992-1995, and provides recommendations to prevent suffocations associated with grain storage bins.