OSHA has cited a Nebraska grain-handling cooperative for failing to protect workers from grain bin entrapment and engulfment hazards. The company faces $373,911 in proposed penalties. On May 4, 2017, OSHA responded to reports of a worker partially entrapped in a grain bin. Investigators found the worker had entered the bin to clear clumps of soybeans while the auger was running. As the clumped beans cleared, the grain shifted and knocked the worker off of his feet. The auger drew the cleared beans to the bottom of the bin and engulfed the worker up to his chest. OSHA cited the cooperative for two willful, one repeat, and four serious safety violations of the agency’s grain handling standards, and placed the company in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Here are the citations:
