A central Illinois grain-handling cooperative exposed workers to serious engulfment hazards when soybeans collapsed inside a bin and engulfed an employee up to their waist. An investigation by OSHA found that two workers were clearing the bin of crops and debris when the February 19, 2021, incident occurred. OSHA proposed $303,510 in penalties after identifying three (3) willful, one (1) serious, and one (1) other-than-serious safety citation. The business operates 19 facilities that process 40 million bushels of grain annually in seven central Illinois counties.
OSHA found the farmer-owned cooperative violated grain-handling safety standards. The agency issued willful citations for:
- allowing workers to enter the bin without first locking out or de-energizing hazardous equipment,
- failing to post an attendant outside the bin to respond in case of emergency, and
- allowing employees to enter a grain bin when there were 10-15 feet of grain build-up on the sides of the bin.
OSHA also issued a serious citation for directing employees to work on top of railcars without fall protection and one other-than-serious citation for failing to test oxygen levels in a grain bin before directing employees to work inside the bin.
