Evaluating and Controlling Exposure

Evaluating Exposure

• OSHA Occupational Chemical Database. OSHA's premier one-stop shop for occupational chemical information. It compiles information from several government agencies and organizations. Information available on the pages includes chemical identification and physical properties, exposure limits, sampling information, and additional resources.
  • Grain Dust (Oats, Wheat, Barley)
• Sampling and Analytical Methods. OSHA.
  • Ethylene Dibromide. Analytical Method 02.
  • Methyl Bromide. Analytical Method PV2040.
  • Phosphine. Analytical Method 1003. In this method a mercuric chloride-treated polyester filter is used to capture phosphine and ICP-AES is used to analyze for the total phosphorus.
• Grain Fungal Diseases and Mycotoxin Reference. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA).

Controlling Exposure

• Hazard Alert: Dangers of Engulfment and Suffocation in Grain Bins. OSHA.
• Grain Handling Letter – Grain Storage Bins. OSHA, (February 1, 2011).
• Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions. OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB), (July 31, 2005). Highlights hazards associated with combustible dusts; work practices and guidelines that reduce the potential for a combustible dust explosion, or that reduce the danger to employees if such an explosion occurs; and, training to protect employees from these hazards.
• Hazard Alert: Combustible Dust Explosions. OSHA Fact Sheet, (March 2008). Provides a brief and easy to understand summary of hazards associated with combustible dusts; work practices and guidelines that reduce the potential for combustible dust explosions.
• Grain Handling. OSHA Publication 3103, (Revised 1996).
• Preventing Grain Auger Electrocutions. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 86-119, (July 1986). Includes case studies of electrocutions, regulatory status, and recommendations for prevention.
• Preventing Fatalities Due to Fires and Explosions in Oxygen-Limiting Silos. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 86-118, (July 1986). Includes a case study and recommendations for prevention.
• Occupational Safety in Grain Elevators and Feed Mills. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 83-126, (September 1983). Provides links to documents identifying hazards and discussing work practices, engineering controls, and training needs.
• Grain Handling/Harvesting/Storage. National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD). Provides a collection of links to several NASD documents, covering nearly all aspects of grain handling.
• Grain Storage Safety. National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD) and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, (September 2006). Outlines general safety guidelines for grain storage.
• For additional information on possible solutions for grain handling related hazards, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages on:
  • Combustible Dust: An Explosion Hazard
  • Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
  • Fall Protection
  • Fire Safety
  • Machine Guarding

Case Studies

• Farm Worker Suffocates in Flowing Grain While Clearing a Blocked Grain Auger. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Iowa Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigation 98IA043.
• NIOSH Warns Farmers of Deadly Risk of Grain Suffocation. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 93-116, (April 28, 1993). Contains case studies and recommendations for control.