US: Grain handler faces $411,540 OSHA fine after employee death

13-Sep-2016 - Last updated on 15-Sep-2016 at 10:51 GMT

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A US farmer-owned cooperative has been fined $411,540 after an employee death at a grain handling facility.

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Nebraska-based Cooperative Producers (CPI), which has 29 grain-handling facilities and about 500 employees, for three egregious willful and three serious violations following its investigation of the March 16, 2016, death.

Grain elevator superintendent Jason Weston, 41, suffocated while removing soybean debris after his lifeline became caught in a rotating and unguarded auger, reported OSHA.

This is the seventh time since 2011 that one the of the company’s locations have been cited, said OSHA. CPI has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Bonita Winingham, OSHA's acting regional administrator in Kansas City said CPI could have prevented this worker's death if "only it had adhered to common sense safety standards."

During its investigation, the agency found CPI failed to:

Disconnect a subfloor auger before allowing workers to enter.
Test atmospheric conditions in grain bins before allowing workers to enter.
Implement procedures to prevent sudden machine start-up or unintentional operation, a process known as lockout/tagout.
Install adequate machine guarding to avoid contact with moving parts.

Company response

Safety continues to be a priority for the company, said CPI. It has worked with OSHA during the investigation.

The grain handler said it is focused on providing training, education and supervision to employees and to provide a safe working environment for employees.

“CPI maintains a strong commitment to the safety and security of all our employees,” said CPI. “Safety has been, and will continue to be, the top priority for our company.”

In addition to cooperating with OSHA during the investigation, CPI said it “strongly supports their mission to promote workplace safety."

However, there were some questions raised by the nature of the citations made, said the firm.

“OSHA did choose to categorize some citations as ‘willful,’ which we strongly disagree with,” said CPI. “We will be continuing to work cooperatively with OSHA through the review process they allow employers, to further clarify and resolve those points.”

Citation details

The company was cited with several serious and willful violations, said OSHA. Willful violations are considered those were the employer either disregarded a safety requirement or was indifferent to employee safety.

Willful violations included not locking out, disconnecting or blocking-off equipment when employees were inside grain storage structures, the agency said.

“The employer is failing to protect each employee entering a grain storage bin from hazards including, but not limited to amputation, entanglement, crushing injuries, and engulfment by not de-energizing, locking out, and tagging out the electrical sub-floor auger,” the agency said. “This was most recently documented at a worksite located at 7940 Hayland Avenue, Prosser, Nebraska on March 14, when employee #1 entered West McPherson/Bin 31 to use a rode or pole to help clear soybean debris that was clogging unguarded sump/floor openings during the operation of the sub-floor auger. At the time of entry, Bin 31 contained approximately 50,000 to 60,000 bushels of soybeans.”

Two other employees entered the same bin with the sub-floor auger in operation to attempt to clear the debris the following day, the agency said. And, on March 16, “employee #3 was fatally injured by asphyxiation when his rope lifeline became entangled with the running sub-floor auger in Bin 31,” it added.

The serious violations include that not all belt and pulley guards were correctly secured; the company did not use a tag and lockout system to prevent accidental motion when equipment was being repaired or adjusted; and grain bin or silo atmosphere was not tested before employees entered, said the agency.

“The employer is failing to protect employees from the respiratory hazard of oxygen deficiency,” the agency said. “This was most recently documented at a worksite located at or near 7940 N. Hayland Avenue, Prosser Nebraska on March 16. Employees entered the West McPherson/Bin 31 of soybeans on March 16 without monitoring for oxygen content prior to or during entry.”