OSHA alert points up confined-spaces, dust hazards of grain handling

A recent report from Purdue University and a new hazard alert from OSHA point up the wide range of safety threats to workers if adequate precautions are not taken when working in grain handling.

The Purdue report says that 26 workers died in 2010 in grain bin engulfments and 51 workers were entrapped overall – the most since Purdue began keeping records in 1978.

One way in which workers can become engulfed when entering bins is if they stand on moving or flowing grain, which pulls workers under. Workers also risk suffocation if they enter bins that don’t have enough oxygen or contain hazardous atmospheres. Incidents in grain bins often result in multiple deaths because workers attempt to rescue their coworkers and then become trapped themselves.

And this month, OSHA issued a hazard alert to better educate employers and workers about the safety challenges inherent in handling grain, which beside engulfment include grain-dust explosions, falls and crushing injuries and amputations in working with grain-handling equipment.

Besides issuing a hazard alert, OSHA has been active on the enforcement front. In the past year, the agency has issued more than $4 million in fines to five companies for alleged violations involving the deaths of five workers and injuries to two others.

“Employers need a safety program that gives full attention to all these hazards,” says Jim Manness, former Corporate Safety & Compliance Officer for Bunge North America, a large international grain company. “Consistent implementation is critical,” says Jim, who provides consulting through FDRsafety.