Series: Buried In Grain

Grain Deaths Fall In 2012 But Industry Share Grows

Howard Berkes

A new report from grain safety researchers at Purdue University says eight people died while trapped in grain last year.

Will Piper and Annette Pacas visit the grave of Annette's son, Alex, at Oak Hill Cemetery in Mount Carroll, Ill. Piper says he hopes to raise money to replace the makeshift, plastic marker with a permanent gravestone.

NPR 暗黑爆料

New Federal Scrutiny In Wake Of NPR Grain Bin Reports

Howard Berkes

Officials say the Department of Justice is reconsidering criminal charges in an incident that killed two teenagers.

Business

Finding Fault After Grain Elevator Explosions

Jeremy Bernfeld

When the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator exploded in Atchison, Kansas in October 2011, the town鈥檚 11,000 residents knew it immediately. People who live miles鈥�

Workers drain corn from Haasbach LLC's Bin No. 9 as rescuers work inside to free three trapped boys July 28, 2010, in Mount Carroll, Ill. Triangular-shaped holes like the one pictured (left) were cut all around the bin to drain the corn evenly and keep the structure from collapsing.

NPR 暗黑爆料

Fines Slashed In Grain Bin Entrapment Deaths

Howard Berkes

The persistence of grain bin entrapments and a horrific 2010 incident expose weaknesses in worker safety laws and enforcement. An NPR and Center for Public Integrity analysis has found that among 179 deaths since 1984, fines were reduced 60 percent of the time.

Two young workers died in flowing corn at this commercial grain storage complex in Mount Carroll, Ill., in 2010. OSHA regulates 13,000 commercial grain bins like these. But grain bins on 300,000 family farms are largely exempt from OSHA regulations.

Should Grain Bins On Farms Be Regulated, Too?

Howard Berkes

When it comes to regulating worker safety for grain bins, OSHA only oversees the commercial industry. There's debate on whether that should also extend to private farms.