The following are highlights from the 2020 findings:
- No fewer than 64 fatal and non-fatal cases involving agricultural confined spaces were documented in 2020, representing a 4.5% decrease over 2019
- There were no fewer than 35 grain related entrapments in 2020 representing a 7.9% decrease over 2019, with the balance involving entanglements and falls
- Three incidents involved more than 1 victim
- Three incidents involved manure storage pits or lagoons
- Nine incidents involved grain dust explosions
- Three female cases were documented in 2020, two of which involved falls from storage structures
- 50% (32) of 2020 cases were fatal compared to 61% historically
- Illinois reported the most cases in 2020 (17), which was more than double the next two highest reporting states, Minnesota and North Dakota; Illinois also reported the most grain-entrapment cases in 2020 (10). Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois have historically recorded the most grain entrapment cases
- Six cases in 2020 involved a youth under the age of 21, none of which involved grain entrapment and one involved manure handling or storage
- OSHA Region 5 and 7 have historically accounted for nearly 70% of all documented agricultural confined space-related incidents
- The number of agricultural confined space-related fatalities documented exceeded the number of reported mining-related fatalities in 2020 (35 versus 29)
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