Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Minnesota: Farmer Dies After Being Struck By Silo Blower Pipe Discharge Chute.

摘要

A 64-year-old male farm hand (victim) died of injuries sustained when he was struck by a silo blower pipe discharge chute. The incident occurred on the first day that chopped hay was being put into the silo this year. He was unloading chopped hay from a forage wagon into a power-take-off (PTO) driven silo forage blower. A steel silo blower pipe was permanently attached to a 60-foot tall silo. Attached to the top end of the blower pipe was a 'goose neck or discharge chute' that deflected the chopped hay into the silo. The victim was standing near the rear wheels of a tractor that operated the forage blower and a second tractor that was hooked to a forage wagon that was being unloaded. The two tractors were several feet apart and parallel to each other facing the same direction. The farm owner drove another tractor down a farm driveway near the incident site. As he drove past, he heard a loud noise. He looked back and noticed chopped hay being blown into the air from the top of the blower pipe. He stopped his tractor and ran to the area where the victim had been standing between the two tractors. He found the victim on the ground with a severe head injury. The discharge chute was lying across the victim's back and shoulders. Emergency medical personnel were immediately called to the scene and arrived shortly after the incident occurred. The victim was air-lifted from the scene and died while enroute via helicopter to a local medical center. MN FACE investigators concluded that to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: (1) all machine components should be inspected and serviced before each use of the machine.