Tragic death prompts OSHA investigation at grain company’s 3 Ohio facilities
Posted March 18, 2011
OSHA cited a grain handling company following the September 2010 death of a 20-year-old worker who was caught in a discharge auger while cleaning out a grain bin. An OSHA inspection conducted at the Morral, Ohio facility revealed numerous safety and health violations including the failure to lock out the discharge and sweep auger and the lack of an appropriate grain bin entry permit to perform work. As a result, the agency initiated inspections at the company’s two additional Ohio facilities located in West Jefferson and Harpster. The grain handling company is being cited for a total of 46 safety and health violations with penalties totaling $465,500.
Prior to these inspections, the parent company and subsidiary facilities in Nebraska and Delaware were issued citations in 2010 and 2009, respectively, including citations for the grain handling standard.
OSHA stated that these investigations fall under the requirements of OSHA's Severe Violators Enforcement Program. Initiated in the spring of 2010, the program is intended to focus on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations in one or more of the following circumstances: a fatality or catastrophe; industry operations or processes that expose workers to severe occupational hazards; exposure to hazards related to the potential releases of highly hazardous chemicals; and all per-instance citation (egregious) enforcement actions.
OSHA also emphasized that since 2009, it has fined grain operators in Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota and Wisconsin following similar preventable fatalities and injuries. In addition to enforcement actions and training, OSHA sent a notification letter in August 2010 to grain elevator operators warning them not to allow workers to enter grain storage facilities without proper equipment. For a copy of the letter, visit www.osha.gov/asst-sec/Grain_letter.html.
OSHA's Region V, which includes Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin also initiated a Grain Safety Local Emphasis Program in August 2010, and has since conducted 61 inspections and issued 163 citations to grain operators/facilities. The violations cover hazards associated with grain engulfment, machine guarding, lockout/tagout of dangerous equipment to prevent accidental energization start-up, electricity, falls, employee training and combustible dust hazards.
The grain handling company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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