Legacy Cooperative, a Nebraska grain cooperative, faces a $536,965 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine for 2 willful and 22 serious violations, the agency announced October 3.

OSHA initiated an inspection as part of its local emphasis program (LEP) for grain-handling facilities in the state. Agency inspectors identified life-threatening hazards at the employer’s Hemingford, Nebraska, facility, where workers faced risks of fire and explosions because the company allowed a buildup of combustible dust and failed to maintain effective dust collection systems.

Agency inspectors found that the company permitted more than one-eighth of an inch of grain dust to accumulate in priority housekeeping areas, such as in the bottom belt tunnel and around the elevator legs. OSHA also found duct tape wrapped around the dust collection system, located in the bottom belt tunnel—a makeshift attempt to repair it. The makeshift repair reduced the system’s efficiency and increased its vulnerability to failure. If left unchecked, grain dust could ignite in seconds and cause deadly explosions and fires.

Other safety failures OSHA identified during its inspection included the following:

• Not conducting regular inspections of equipment;
• Failing to certify the completion of preventive maintenance; 
• Not complying with the agency’s confined space permit requirements, including a requirement to develop procedures for entry operations that include hazard evaluations, atmospheric testing, rescue procedures, monitoring, and training;
• Exposing workers to fall hazards posed by unguarded stairway holes and a lack of handrails;
• Improperly using flexible cords and failing to close electrical openings;
• Not providing required forklift training; and
• Failing to properly label containers of hazardous chemicals.

“Grain dust fires and explosions are a well-known industry hazard, which makes Legacy Grain Cooperative’s failure to control dust where a belt’s friction could easily cause ignition inexcusable,” Matthew Thurlby, OSHA’s Omaha, Nebraska, area office director, said in an agency statement.

Kansas City region adds grain-handling LEP in Missouri

OSHA’s Kansas City regional office launched a new LEP in Missouri to address worker safety in the grain-handling industry, the agency announced October 2.

According to OSHA, the Missouri LEP is identical to existing emphasis programs in Kansas and Nebraska.

Between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2023, the agency responded to 3 fatalities, 13 reported amputations, and 36 hospitalizations among grain-handling industry workers in the 3 states alone. During the same period, OSHA completed 104 inspections, including 68 in Kansas, 28 in Nebraska, and 8 in Missouri, and received 131 complaints or referrals about unsafe conditions in the grain-handling industry.

 The LEPs target workplaces like grain elevators, grain storage and milling operations, and employers engaged in animal feed production, farm machinery, and equipment repair or maintenance.  

“The tragic toll of preventable deaths and injuries in the grain handling industry highlights the severe dangers workers face when safety regulations are ignored,” Billie A. Kizer, OSHA’s Kansas City regional administrator, said in an agency statement. “With this regional emphasis program, OSHA can target high-risk worksites, pushing employers to tackle the root causes of worker injuries and prioritize safety as a core business value.”