Company fined more than $1.6 million after worker suffocates in grain bin

Added June 29th, 2010

OSHA has issued 23 citations against the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association for the total disregard it showed for its employees’ lives by allowing a worker to enter an unsafe silo where he was buried and suffocated beneath a mound of grain. OSHA fined the company $1,610,000 after inspectors concluded that the Dec. 2009 death at its McLaughlin, S.D., grain handling operation could have easily been prevented by implementing required safety precautions.

The list of violations include:

• allowing workers to enter bins containing unstable mounds of grain
• letting workers walk on top of clumped grain
• failing to shut off and lock out equipment to prevent grain from moving through the bin while workers were inside
• failing to equip workers inside grain-filled bins with protection from being buried or providing outside coworkers with the means to rescue those inside
• failing to properly train workers or have an emergency action plan in place before sending them into bins where hazardous conditions existed

“We know that safety precautions could have prevented this tragedy,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor David Michaels. “The dangers of grain bin entry are well known in the industry, yet the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association chose to ignore these hazards.” See the news release for more information and OSHA’s grain handling facilities standard for the safety protections employers are required to provide workers who enter grain storage bins.

Read the full article on the US Department of Labor website...