Note: We are republishing this story to raise awareness for the Mike Biadasz farm safety and education memorial fund. To find out more, go to their Facebook page here and website here.
The farmer and sixteen of his cattle perished in a strange accident when a “deadly dome of air” exploded in a Wisconsin farm’s manure holding tank.
According to WAOW, 29-year-old farmer Michael Biadasz of Amherst, Wisconsin, died of gas poisoning on his family’s farm after being overcome by methane or sulfur oxide fumes. There were sixteen cow deaths on the farm, including the initial deaths of thirteen animals and the following deaths of three more.
Bob Biadasz, the 29-year-old’s father and co-owner of Biadasz Farms, claims that a “perfect storm” of unusual and unanticipated meteorological conditions was to blame for the disaster. When the tank was ready to be pumped, the gases were trapped in a dome of air by warm upper air temperatures, harming Michael and the animals.
Biadasz was reportedly already dead when other workers arrived to begin clearing the tank of excrement.
“The family is absolutely devastated,” Portage County Coroner Scott Rifleman told WAOW.
Rifleman told WSAW that since gas poisoning deaths typically occur in enclosed areas, the occurrence is even more surprising. According to the coroner, the air pressure prevented the gases from escaping.
The coroner went on to explain that an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of Biadasz’s death. Rifleman asserted that Biadasz had safely drained the same tank hundreds of times before to the terrible incident.
The Biadasz family positioned a line of tractors and other machinery along the road that passes close to the farm as a memorial to Michael. Among the parked vehicles are Michael’s black pickup truck, many red trucks, and a blue tractor.
“As if there isn’t enough danger in the lives of farmers, this family had to suffer this freak accident,” a Facebook commenter wrote in response to the article. “So depressing.”
In the wake of the tragic event, many are calling for more regulations to be placed on manure storage tanks in order to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. According to All That’s News, the National Agriculture Safety Database recommends that spaces used for storing cattle should have sufficient ventilation and that warning signs should be placed nearby.
According to the NASD, “owners should be encouraged to follow a few precautionary measures to protect both workers and livestock from harmful manure gases, in addition to adhering to proper construction and maintenance procedures for liquid manure storage facilities.”
Five members of a Virginia family perished in a similar tragic event in 2007 when a pipe blockage caused a lethal methane gas buildup, according to WASW.
