Employer Fined $188,000 After Grain Worker Death
The November death of a 51-year-old grain worker in Taft, Texas has led to a $188,000 fine for the employer that failed to follow safety practices that may have prevented the accident.
Arnulfo “Ernie” Medina was sucked into a pile of sorghum in a grain elevator and died of asphyxiation on November 9 of last year. It took rescue workers more than eight hours to recover his body. He had been working for the Taft Grain & Elevator Co. for just five weeks.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company with four willful and 16 serious violations, including failure to provide employees with a body harness and lifeline, failure to have an attendant present with rescue equipment, and failure to ensure that employees were trained in hazards associated with grain handling.
At least 26 U.S. workers were killed in grain entrapments last year. This is the highest number of grain entrapment deaths in one year since statistics were first kept in 1978.
This increase has led to an OSHA crackdown on grain operators who fail to prevent fatalities and injuries. Since 2009, OSHA has issued fines of at least $100,000 for each such incident.
“OSHA will not tolerate noncompliance with the Grain Handling Facilities standard,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. “We will continue to use our enforcement authority to the fullest extent possible.”
– Guest Contributor
Dean Malone
Dean Malone