OSHA Warns Grain Elevator Operators
From OSHA’s Cooperative Programs –
OSHA has sent a letter to all grain elevator operators warning them not to allow workers to enter grain storage bins without proper equipment, precautions, and training. The letter, which included a copy of OSHA’s grain handling facilities standard (29 CFR 1910.272), stated that OSHA will not tolerate non-compliance with the standard and will aggressively pursue enforcement actions against employers who violate the standard. OSHA’s letter is in response to several recent incident in which workers were killed or injured at grain handling facilities, including:
• Two teenagers in Illinois were suffocated after being engulfed in a grain bin they entered to help clear.
• A worker was buried up to his chest and trapped in frozen soybeans at a facility in Burlington, Wisconsin. The worker was ultimately rescued after a four-hour order. On August 4, 2010, OSHA proposed a $721,000 fine against Cooperative Plus, Inc.
• A worker suffocated after being engulfed by grain at a facility in Aberdeen, South Dakota. On May 27, 2010, OSHA proposed a $1.6 million fine against South Dakota Wheat Growers Association. OSHA’s investigation found that five others workers were also at risk of being engulfed when they were sent into the bin to dig the victim out.
• A teenage worker suffocated after being engulfed by grain in a grain storage bin in Haswell, Colorado. On November 23, 2009, OSHA proposed a $1.5 million fine against Temple Grain Elevators LLP.
For more information, please see OSHA’s news release at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=18105.