2/29/2024 0 Comments Grain silo accidentsIt’s a highly dangerous practice that can result in sudden entrapment similar to being sucked in by quicksand. It refers to the practice of workers going into grain silos and bins with shovels and picks to break up clogs in the grain so that it can flow smoothly. OSHA resources for agricultural operations employers include links to information about the agency’s Susan Harwood Training Grant Program and other Department of Labor farmwork programs, industry publications, and state resources.It’s called “walking down the grain,” it’s illegal and it results in suffocation deaths on farms with frightening regularity. The agency has established collaborations with the Grain Elevator and Processing Society, Grain-Handling Safety Coalition, and National Grain and Feed Association to address industry hazards. OSHA’s grain-handling safety standard (.272) focuses on the grain and feed industry’s six major hazards: engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, “struck by,” combustible dust explosions, and electrocution hazards. Other recent incidents involving Didion Milling include a May 2017 explosion that killed 5 workers and injured as many as 15 others and a large grain shelf collapse in October 2020 that nearly engulfed an employee who was cleaning the inside of a grain bin. The company operates a corn milling and biofuels (ethanol) facility in Cambria and production facilities in Markesan and Johnson Creek. OSHA also cited Didion Milling for other serious violations of the grain-handling facilities standard, as well as the electrical protective equipment and lockout/tagout standards.ĭidion Milling has been in operation since 1972, according to OSHA. The agency also determined that the external process should have continued for several more days before allowing anyone to enter the grain bin. When the manager failed to arrive for a regularly scheduled meeting, Didion Milling employees called 911 after they could not find him at the silo or reach him by telephone. OSHA inspectors determined that a manager was fatally injured December 8, 2020, after entering an unsafe grain bin despite having an external process underway to remove corn from the clogged silo. Ensure that employees do not enter a bin or silo where a buildup of grain products on the sides presents an engulfment hazard.Ensure that an observer is stationed outside a bin or silo during employee entry.Prohibit employees from “walking down grain” to clear the bottom of a grain bin or silo.Ensure that mechanical equipment is de-energized to prevent operation during employee entry when such operation would pose an engulfment hazard from potential grain movement.OSHA cited Didion Milling with four willful, serious violations of the grain-handling facilities standard, including failing to: Safety standards are in place to protect workers from serious and fatal injuries.” This is a frightening and tragic reality. “Six of every 10 workers trapped in a grain bin don’t make it out alive. “Didion Milling’s failure to learn from recent incidents and follow industry standards and their own company policies cost this worker’s life,” OSHA’s Acting Chicago Regional Administrator William Donovan said in a statement. Buhanovskiy / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
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