FATALITY ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL EVALUATION (FACE) PROGRAM

Through the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, NIOSH conducts investigations of fatal occupational injuries. The primary intent of this program is to provide interested users with access to the full text of hundreds of fatality investigation reports.

State FACE Reports: Confined Space

The following reports are the products of our Cooperative State partners and are presented here in their original unedited form from the states. The findings and conclusions in each report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.


Report No.	Incident State	Title

2012IA001	IA	Farmer engulfed in soybeans while operating grain vacuum in steel bin.
2008MI121	MI	59-Year-old male worker at a fruit storage facility died after entering a controlled atmosphere storage room.
2006MI188	MI	Welder dies during welding repair inside of cargo tank compartment.
2006MI174	MI	Hispanic laborer dies as a result of a trench collapse.
2006MI004	MI	29-year old male Hispanic landscape laborer dies when nine foot deep trench collapses.
2005OK076	OK	A utility cleanup worker for a brick manufacturer suffocated in a storage silo.
2005NJ003	NJ	Worker killed in a fall in a bakery fermentation tank.
2005MN040	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
2005MI084	MI	Worker dies in trench collapse.
2005MI066	MI	Quality control operator dies after falling into cherry processing brine tank.
2005IA042	IA	Handyman plumber asphyxiated in entry into water service manhole vault.
2005CA002	CA	A plumber died when the trench he was working in collapsed around him.
2004OR002	OR	Mechanic dies from lack of oxygen in transport tank.
2004MI160	MI	Carpenter dies when eight-foot trench wall collapses during sewer pipe replacement.
2003WA038	WA	Two teen workers asphyxiate in an agricultural silo.
2003NY027	NY	City engineer killed in landfill manhole when retrieving flow meter.
2003NE022	NE	Farmer electrocuted exiting grain bin.
2003IA058	IA	Hog farmer dies from asphyxiation after manure pit agitation.
2002NY012	NY	Feed mill worker dies in grain bin.
2002NE044	NE	Worker falls into mixing tank.
2002NE017	NE	Farm supply store manager killed when engulfed by corn in grain bin.
2002MN040	MN	Farm worker dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
2002IA061	IA	Swine confinement worker dies from carbon monoxide poisoning.
2002IA031	IA	Two sewer pipe relining workers killed by toxic sewer gas.
2001MI064	MI	Restaurant maintenance worker wedged between sump pump pipe support bar and sump pump crock rim.
2001IA021	IA	Two railroad repair workers asphyxiated in damaged tank car.
2001IA017	IA	Farmer suffocates in grain bin while unloading corn.
2000WI080	WI	Youth camp counselor dies of carbon monoxide poisoning.
2000MN036	MN	Farm worker dies after being engulfed in wheat in semi-truck box in Minnesota.
1999NE028	NE	Farm youth suffocated in corn bin.
1999NE016	NE	Two feedlot workers suffocated in grain bin.
1998TX145	TX	A pipe layer working in a trench for a general contractor in Texas, died when a trench wall gave way and he was fully engulfed in sand/dirt.
1998NJ047	NJ	Worker suffocated when engulfed in a sand hopper.
1998MN055	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1998MA035	MA	Temporary laborer dies in fish processing plant in Massachusetts.
1998IA043	IA	Farm worker suffocates in flowing grain while clearing a blocked grain auger.
1998IA035	IA	Farmer suffocates under grain while using a grain vacuum.
1997MA031	MA	Construction laborer dies in trench cave-in at oil tank removal site in Massachusetts.
1996NE005	NE	Hydrogen sulfide poisoning kills two.
1996MN086	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1996MN083	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn screenings inside a steel grain bin.
1996MN073	MN	Construction worker dies after being buried in a trench that caved in.
1996MN059	MN	Construction worker dies after being buried in a trench that caved in.
1996MN047	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1996MN023	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1996MN001	MN	Two employees die after steam line they were repairing was re-energized.
1996IN123	IN	Laborer falls 48 feet to his death while painting inside of empty storage silo.
1996CA007	CA	Laborer dies in trench cave-in in California.
1995NE040	NE	Worker buried in trench cave in.
1995MN045	MN	Farm youth dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1995CA017	CA	Laborer dies in trench cave-in in California.
1995CA014	CA	Two oil field mechanics die in a pressure vessel rupture at an oil refinery in California.
1994WY004	WY	Cave-in kills field service owner in Wyoming.
1994MN058	MN	Farmer dies after being engulfed in corn inside a steel grain bin.
1994MN057	MN	Waste hauling service worker dies after he collapsed in an underground manure waste pit.
1994MN045	MN	Farmer asphyxiated in manure waste pit.
1994MA010	MA	Massachusetts concrete plant driver/yardman asphyxiated in materials hopper.
1994CO006	CO	17-year-old worker at a plastic products manufacturing plant died as a result of an overexposure to tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene).
1994CA016	CA	Three oil field workers died after inhaling carbon monoxide gas in an oil well cellar in California.
1994CA009	CA	Warehouseman dies from asphyxiation in salt storage bin in California.
1994CA002	CA	A crew leadman and a general foreman die from burns sustained in fire at sanitation plant in California.
1994AK012	AK	Welder's helper asphyxiated in argon-inerted pipe - Alaska.
1993WI232	WI	Farmer asphyxiated after entering sealed silo.
1993WI221	WI	Farmer dies of asphyxiation in grain bin.
1993WI181	WI	Owner of an auto dealership dies of carbon monoxide poisoning while doing car repairs in an unventilated garage.
1993WI143	WI	Farmer's helper dies of asphyxiation in grain bin.
1993MN007	MN	Grain elevator worker dies after becoming engulfed in soy beans.
1993MN001	MN	Male maintenance worker buried and suffocated in sand hopper.
1993IA014	IA	Iowa farm worker suffocates after becoming trapped in a storage bin filled with an unstable grain product.
1993CA009	CA	Welder dies in explosion while working inside a tanker trailer in California.
1993AK011	AK	Independent contractor dies in sewer line excavation engulfment - Alaska.
1992WY009	WY	Contract worker re-installing sewer line in Wyoming.
1992WI119	WI	Two carpenters died of carbon monoxide poisoning secondary to running a gas powered engine in a confined space (basement of a home).
1992WI063	WI	A 20 year old farmer dies after entering a silo recently filled with haylage.
1992NJ020	NJ	Police officer drowns after being overcome by hydrogen sulfide while attempting rescue of construction worker.
1992MO046	MO	Two metal refinishers die when fumes ignite in elevator car.
1992MO037	MO	Construction laborer dies from burns received when scalding hot water floods sewer.
1992MO033	MO	Municipal water-line inspector dies after entering oxygen-deficient vault in Missouri.
1992MN025	MN	Grain elevator owner's son dies after being engulfed in a corn bin.
1992MN001	MN	A 35-year-old male died after falling into and suffocating in a corn bin containing approximately 40,000 bushels of corn.
1992MA018	MA	Massachusetts water works specialty valve foreman dies in oxygen deficient valve chamber.
1992CA007	CA	Laborer drowns in flooded pipeline after water main was ruptured by a backhoe in California.
1992CA001	CA	Laborer dies after inhaling fumes and drowning in California.
1992AK036	AK	Operator dies in oxygen-deficient compartment of ice-making barge - Alaska.
1991MA002	MA	Custodian dies in a confined space in a hospital laundry.
1991CO074	CO	Sanitation worker dies when rescuing co-worker from underground sewer vault.
1991AK013	AK	Assistant manager at ice rink asphyxiated by an oxygen-deficient atmosphere - Alaska.
1990NJ014	NJ	Laborer electrocuted while working at bottom of dry well at sewer pumping station.
1990CO063	CO	Carbon monoxide kills 65 year-old rancher in Colorado.
1989CO029	CO	Mechanic in a construction firm died after becoming entrapped in a roofing tar tank truck.