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Accident: 200520021 - Employee Suffocates When Pulled Into Storage Bin Of Beans

Accident: 200520021 -- Report ID: 0751910 -- Event Date: 04/30/1996
InspectionOpen DateSICEstablishment Name
11508117605/01/19965153Central Counties Cooperative
Employee #1 and a coworker entered the top of a 48 ft diameter, 70,000 bushel capacity steel grain bin that was filled with approximately 15 ft of beans. The two workers were trying to clear an obstruction of bean pods, but found that they couldn't dig down far enough to reach the side trap. They then decided to see if they could reach and operate the middle trap. While Employee #1 stayed inside the bin, his coworker exited, went down to the ground, and manually shut the side trap door from the outside. Then he went to the control station for the auger, which was running, and opened the middle trap. Very few beans came out, and the coworker said that he felt something unusual as he was closing the trap. He turned off the auger and returned to the grain bin's opening, but could not see Employee #1. The coworker immediately called for help, and then re-entered the bin to find Employee #1, who had been sucked down into the beans. He died of suffocation. Neither Employee #1 nor the coworker were wearing personal protective equipment, and a permit had not been issued for their job.
Keywords: ppe, suffocated, work rules, caught by, jammed, lockout, unstable surface, auger, fall protection, grain bin
Employee # Inspection Age Sex Degree Nature Occupation
1 115081176 Fatality Asphyxia Laborers, except construction

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