The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated the company after an incident in April where an employee at the company’s Fredonia location was injured on site by a sweep auger and hospitalized.
The grain elevator in Fredonia handles several feed grains including soybeans, corn and wheat, according to company information.
The company was cited for eight serious and six willful – where the employer acted with purposeful disregard or indifference – safety violations, which were made public last week.
“OSHA's grain-handling standards address the numerous serious and life-threatening hazards found in grain bins, including caught-in and confined space hazards,” said Eric Brooks, OSHA's area director in Bismarck. “Larson Grain could have prevented this worker's injuries if only it had adhered to these common sense safety standards that protect workers in this hazardous industry.”
Violation details
Several serious violations were brought to the attention of the company, said OSHA. These included that not all holes in the floor were covered and not all wall openings over a drop were guarded.
A written program to address respiratory protection with detail specific to the facility had not been established or put into use, the agency said. The company also did not identify and evaluate respiratory hazards faced by employees and employees with special tasks were not provided necessary training.
The company was found to have exposed employees to health and physical hazards during maintenance activities like cleaning the boot pit in the grain elevator and failing to require observers with correct safety equipment be presented when employees entered enclosed spaces like the grain bin, silo or tank, said the agency.
Machine guarding protections and sprocket wheels and chains also were not enclosed, the agency said.
In addition to the serious concerns, the company was cited for several willful violations, OSHA reported. These included that the company failed to adequately test the enclosed spaces for appropriate entry conditions; no entry permit was required or issued for an enclosed space; and air quality within the space was not tested prior to entry.
Employees were not also properly trained on procedures and safety practices like lock-out/tag-out procedures, the agency said. “On or about April 9 for the employees exposed to caught-in hazards including the employee who sustained injuries while conducting cleaning activities in the wet bin where the sweep auger was not locked out,” it added.
Machinery and equipment that could pose a threat to employees inside a grain storage space was not prevented from operating, the agency said, including the sweep auger which was initiated and injured an employee cleaning the wet bin.
What’s next?
The company has several courses of action moving forward including making the changes specified by OSHA and paying the fine, said the agency. Company officials have 15 days from receiving the citation and notification of penalty to act and abatement certification has to be provided for any items not corrected during inspection.
Documents regarding the safety violations have to be posted close to the area where the violation was found or made available for all employees, said the agency.
Larson Grain also may request and have an informal conference with the agency during that period, said OSHA. “During such an informal conference you may present any evidence or views which you believe would support an adjustment to the citations and or penalty,” the agency added.
“Bring to the conference any and all supporting documentation of exiting conditions as well as any abatement steps taken thus far,” said the agency. “If conditions warrant, we can enter into an informal settlement agreement which amicably resolves this matter without litigation or contest.”
Additionally, company officials have the option to contest the fines, abatement dates, complete citation or individual aspects of it, the agency said.