WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, US — The number of documented agricultural confined space incidents in the United States decreased 34% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to researchers at Purdue University.

The total was also down from the five-year and 10-year average. Purdue University’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department has documented and investigated incidents involving grain storage and handling facilities at commercial and on-farm locations since the 1970s.

A total of 55 cases were documented in 2023, including 27 grain entrapments, four falls into or from grain storage structures, five asphyxiations due to deficient oxygen levels of toxic environments, six equipment entanglements that occurred while working inside or around agricultural confined spaces and nine cases involving grain handling facility fires or explosions.   

Of the 55 cases, 29 were fatal and 26 were non-fatal.

“Despite the significant resources being devoted to addressing the issue, the frequency and severity of reported cases continues to be a cause for concern,” researchers said.

The number of grain entrapments was down 36% from 2022 and was slightly lower than the five-year average. Of the reported entrapments, 59% resulted in fatality, which is higher than the five-year average. Most of the entrapment incidents occurred in the Midwest.

Nine grain dust explosions were documented in 2023, researchers said. There were no fatalities documented and three of the incidents resulted in non-fatal injuries. The 10-year average for injuries is 9.5 and 1.2 for fatalities.