Worker loses toes in Waterville, Kansas, grain bin; incident due to safety violations

WATERVILLE, Kan. — He walked into the grain storage bin on his own two feet, but he left in an ambulance. The 35-year-old had been working for the Beattie Farmers Union Cooperative for about a year when one day he became entangled in an auger that was inadvertently turned on while he was cleaning out the bin. At the hospital, doctors amputated all the toes on his left foot. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the Aug. 28, 2014, incident and found that the company failed to place locking devices on augers to prevent them from being turned on while workers were in the bin. After identifying one willful, one repeated and three serious safety and health violations, OSHA proposed penalties of $65,900.

"Beattie knows how to protect its workers, but failed to do so, and because of their negligence, this worker lost all the toes on his left foot," said Judy Freeman, OSHA's area director in Wichita. "Workers in the grain handling industry are regularly exposed to danger — from engulfment to dangerous equipment to potential explosions from grain dust accumulation. Industry leaders must ensure their workers are trained on all necessary precautions to avoid these hazards."

OSHA's inspection found that Beattie employees were simultaneously cleaning out two steel grain bins in preparation for the fall harvest. The auger for one bin was turned on while the worker who was injured was inside cleaning out grain. The company willfully exposed the worker to caught-in and amputation hazards by failing to prevent the auger's unexpected startup. The employee has not been able to return to work since the incident.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Inspectors also noted that drive pulleys on the bucket elevator legs and augers lacked adequate safety mechanisms to prevent workers from coming into contact with operating machinery parts. Beattie was cited for this violation previously at its facility in 2010. OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer was cited previously for a similar violation within the past five years.

Workers were also exposed to fall hazards because ladder floor openings were not protected with guardrails and hatch covers. Additionally, poor housekeeping practices allowed grain dust to accumulate, exposing workers to explosion hazards. Three serious violations were cited. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

The force from such an explosion can cause employee deaths, injuries and destruction of buildings. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board identified 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that led to the deaths of 119 workers, 718 injuries and numerous extensively damaged industrial facilities.

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 effort 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 has also published information related to common grain-industry hazards and abatement methods, proper bin entry techniques, sweep auger use and many other grain-related topics.

Based in Beattie, the Beattie Farmers Union Cooperative employs 41 workers at six locations and has annual sales of about $60 million. The Waterville location handles grain, feed, seed, bulk liquid, dry fertilizer and other agricultural products. The company also has locations in Frankfort, Marietta, Blue Rapids and Summerfield.

The Beattie Farmers Union Cooperative Association has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Wichita Area Office at 316-269-6644.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.