OSHA Announces Grain Worker Safety Alliance
The two-year alliance will focus on preventing exposure to hazards associated with grain bin entry, machine guarding, respiratory protection, falls, heat exposure exposures, combustible dust, struck-by equipment, and lockout/tago
OSHA and the National Grain and Feed Association have formed an alliance with the goal of protecting workers in the grain handling industry. The two-year alliance will focus on preventing exposure to hazards associated with grain bin entry, machine guarding, respiratory protection, falls, heat exposure exposures, combustible dust, struck-by equipment, and lockout/tagout, according to OSHA's announcement.
NGFA was established in 1896. It consists of more than 1,000 grain, feed, processing, exporting, and other grain-related companies that operate more than 7,000 facilities and handle more than 70 percent of all U.S. grains and oilseeds. Members include grain elevators; feed and feed ingredient manufacturers; biofuels companies; grain and oilseed processors and millers; exporters; livestock and poultry integrators; and associated firms.
Alliance participants will share recommended practices or effective approaches for recognizing and preventing grain handling hazards with OSHA staffers and with industry safety and health professionals. The announcement said participants also plan to support and promote events such as the Grain Industry Stand-Up, which focuses on engulfment prevention.
"Grain handling operations pose numerous hazards that can cause serious, sometimes fatal injuries," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. "We look forward to working with NGFA to find ways to reduce exposures to hazards and promote workplace safety and health."