Grain Entrapment

 Grain entrapment occurs when a person(s) becomes partially buried or completely covered in free flowing grain and is unable to self-extricate without assistance. Grain entrapments have occurred in all types of free flowing agricultural crops including corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, sunflower seeds, and oats. Most documented cases have involved corn in on-farm storage
bins. In addition, entrapments have occurred in processed agricultural crops such as livestock feed and cotton seeds. 

Purdue University estimates that approximately 15-20 flowing grain-related suffocations occur each year in the U.S., along with numerous other undocumented partial entrapments. The record year was 2010 when 59 fatal incidents were documented, or approximately one each week.  Most entrapments occur in the Midwest Corn Belt, but have been documented in more than 20 states and several Canadian provinces.  

For more detailed information about grain entrapments in the U.S., download Purdue University's  "Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities" at the bottom of this page.