Powered by GoogleTranslate

UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA

Contact Us FAQ A to Z Index English Español

Return to Accident Search Results

Accident Report Detail

Accident: 200880649 - Employee Asphyxiated After Being Engulfed Inside Storage Bin

Accident: 200880649 -- Report ID: 0215800 -- Event Date: 03/15/2002
InspectionOpen DateSICEstablishment Name
30458997103/16/20022046Roe Farm Service, Inc.
On March 15, 2002, Employee #1, of Roe Farm Service, Inc., was operating the Flaked Corn System and other associated equipment, which includes crushing and cooling before filling the storage bins with the processed material. Employee #1 was found inside of a flaked corn storage bin with a shovel and was apparently shoveling the material to make room for an estimated half-ton of the flaked corn that remained in the cooler. A coworker noticed that the flaked corn system blower was still operating at 6:30 p.m. and knew that Employee #1 had been operating the system earlier and should have been done by this time. The coworker shut off the blower and called for Employee #1, but got no reply. The coworker began looking for the employee and noticed that the cover to the Flaked Corn Bin #13 was open. The coworker climbed the ladder to the top and saw Employee #1's hands protruding from the corn, he also saw a shovel on top of the corn. It appears Employee #1 entered Bin #13 without complying with confined space requirements to shovel material away from the fill chute in order to get the remaining material from the cooler into the bin. The bin had a void inside which was created when material was removed by the bottom auger and the material above became bridged. When Employee #1 entered the bin from the top, the bridged area inside of the bin gave way under the combined weight of the added material from the fill chute and Employee #1. Employee #1 was engulfed by the corn and asphyxiated. Employee #1 died of asphyxia.
Keywords: asphyxiated, confined space, storage bin, guard, equipment operator, fixed ladder, fall, bridged material, shovel, grain bin
Employee # Inspection Age Sex Degree Nature Occupation
1 304589971 Fatality Asphyxia Crushing and grinding machine operators

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.

Close