Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 43604.015 - Employee is engulfed inside a grain bin, asphyxiated and kil
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
901608.015 | 04/19/2013 | 325193 | United Ethanol Llc |
Abstract: At 9:00 a.m. on April 19, 2013 Employee #1, working at an ethanol production facility, entered a 600,000 bushel grain bin containing corn to investigate why the corn had stopped flowing from the bin. A coworker acted as an attendant for this entry. The bin contained approximately 140,000 bushels of corn at the time the entry was made. Employee #1 instructed the coworker, via radio, to open a discharge gate in the floor of the grain bin to increase the flow of corn exiting the bin. The coworker entered the tunnel system beneath the bin to open the gate, and then returned to the surface. Employee #1 then asked a coworker to open a second discharge gate. The coworker again entered the tunnel system to open the second gate, and upon returning to the surface, looked into the entry hatch but could not see Employee #1. Corn was sloped up on the walls of the grain bin to a height of 25 feet, and there was a large mound of corn near the middle of the bin. At 10:15 a.m., Employee #1 became engulfed in the moving corn. The bin entry was made without de-energizing and locking out the drag conveyor under the bin. Employee #1 was asphyxiated and killed after being buried in the corn. The employee was recovered from the bin 13 hours later.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 901608.015 | 27 | M | Fatality | Laborers, except construction |