United Ethanol Cited with 15 Safety Violations
OSHA issues the violations after a worker became engulfed in a grain bin earlier in the year
After a worker was engulfed inside a grain storage bin at the Milton United Ethanol facility, OSHA did an inspection of the facility and found 15 total health and safety violations, according to a press release from OSHA’s website. Because of the severity of the violations, OSHA has placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which requires follow-up inspections.
Of the fifteen violations, one willful violation included failure to lockout conveyors used to empty grain bins, which is what caused the worked to be engulfed earlier in the year. The worker died when he tried to enter the grain bin that held about 140,000 bushels of corn to unclog the floor shoot.
Other serious violations included failure to guard floor chute openings, failure to prevent exposure to moving grain hazards, failure to have an observer oversee entry procedures, failure to certify that all bin entry requirements are implemented and more.
The company also had seven violations of OSHA’s Process Safety Management standards, which included failure to develop emergency shutdown procedures, failure to annually certify that operating procedures for the distillation process were current and accurate and more.
For more information, visit: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=24996