The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Gavilon Grain LLC in connection with the death last September of a 20-year-old worker in Morral, Ohio, who was caught in a discharge auger while cleaning out a grain bin.
Gavilon Grain LLC, which operates as Peavey Co. in Ohio, is a subsidiary of Omaha, Neb.-based Gavilon Group LLC. It also operates DeBruce and Peavey grain operations in Nebraska.
After the accident at Gavilon's Morral site, OSHA also inspected grain bin operations at West Jefferson and Harpster in Ohio. Gavilon was cited for 46 safety and health violations with penalties totaling $465,500.
Prior to these inspections, Gavilon Group facilities in Nebraska and Delaware were issued citations in 2010 and 2009, respectively, for violations of the grain handling standard.
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"This tragic death could have been prevented had the grain bin owner and operators followed occupational safety standards and learned from the tragedies that have occurred at other grain bins," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Grain elevator owners and operators must implement well-known safety practices to prevent workers from being hurt or killed in a grain bin."
Renee Soto, a spokeswoman for Gavilon, said: "Gavilon is fully committed to maintaining a safe working environment for its employees. Over the past two years, we have significantly increased our efforts to meet or exceed OSHA safety standards maintained by world class companies."
At least 25 U.S. workers were killed in grain entrapments last year, and the numbers of entrapments are increasing, according to researchers at Purdue University. There were more grain entrapments in 2010 than in any year since the university started collecting data on entrapments in 1978.
Gavilon's citations included those classified as willful, one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health; and serious, one that occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Since 2009, OSHA has fined grain operators in Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota and Wisconsin for similar preventable fatalities and injuries. "OSHA will not tolerate noncompliance with the Grain Handling Facilities standard," said Michaels in the letter. "We will continue to use our enforcement authority to the fullest extent possible."
The company can comply with the penalties, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Gavilon will review each alleged violation and determine the appropriate course of action, Soto said.