OSHA CITES ETHANOL COMPANY AFTER WORKER ENGULFED IN CORN BIN

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT

US Labor Department's OSHA cites United Ethanol for 15 violations after
worker fatally engulfed in corn bin at Milton, Wis., ethanol facility
Company placed in Severe Violator Enforcement Program

MILTON, Wis. – United Ethanol LLC has been cited for 15 health and safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration after a worker was fatally engulfed in corn inside a grain storage bin on April 19 at the Milton ethanol manufacturing facility.

"This was a terrible, preventable tragedy that underscores the importance of safety compliance," said Kim Stille, OSHA's area director in Madison. "Engulfment is one of the six major hazards present in grain bin handling facilities. Employers are responsible for identifying hazards and ensuring workers follow proper procedures to prevent injury or death."

The worker entered the grain bin in an attempt to unclog the floor chute and became engulfed when corn began to flow. The commercial grain bin held about 140,000 bushels of corn at the time of the incident.

One willful violation was cited under OSHA's grain handling regulations for failing to lockout conveyors used to empty grain bins, which exposed the now-deceased worker to the engulfment hazard. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for, or plain indifference to, employee safety and health.

Five serious violations of OSHA's grain handling standards include failing to guard floor chute openings; prevent exposure to moving grain hazards; prevent workers from entering bins when engulfment hazards exist; and failure to have an observer oversee entry procedures and to certify that all bin entry requirements had been implemented.

In 2010, following the deaths of at least 26 U.S. workers in grain bin entrapments-the highest number on record-OSHA focused its enforcement efforts on the grain and feed industry's six major danger areas. These include engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, struck-by, combustible dust and electrocution hazards. OSHA area offices in 25 states, including Wisconsin, have developed a local emphasis program dealing with grain.