A 28-year-old male employee of The Ellsworth Co-op had his left leg amputated Monday when he stepped into an open auger well inside a steel grain bin, while the auger was running. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Wichita office has opened an investigation at the grain handling facility.
“Workers should never enter grain bins while augers are operating,” said Judy Freeman, OSHA’s Area Director in Wichita. “Our thoughts are with this worker who has suffered a life-altering injury that was preventable by following OSHA safety standards.”
OSHA’s grain-handling standards address the numerous serious and life-threatening hazards found in grain bins. OSHA has identified six major hazards in the industry including engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, struck-by, combustible dust explosions and electrocution hazards.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires that employers furnish employment and a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.
To be more effective in preventing injuries, illnesses and fatalities, employers and workers need to use a range of tools and strategies. These include education, compliance assistance and fair and strong enforcement.
For information on the OSHA inspection process see: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-inspections.pdf.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742), or the agency’s Wichita Area Office at 316-269-6644.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.