Two workers at Birdsong Peanuts in Suffolk, VA, were checking on the level of peanuts when one fell into the 50-foot tall storage tank.

A co-worker got a line to the fallen worker. When local firefighters arrived, the employee was submerged 15 feet under the nuts.

The firefighters got a self-contained breathing apparatus to the man. They were concerned he would suffocate because vibrations from passing trucks threatened to shake the contents of the tank.

The unidentified worker was connected to another line and lifted out of the silo. He was able to climb down a ladder on his own and refused further treatment.

No word on whether OSHA will investigate this incident.

OSHA recently fined a Wisconsin grain cooperative $721,000 after a worker was engulfed in frozen soybeans. The employee survived after being trapped for four hours.

In a letter to grain storage operators, OSHA said companies must follow the regulations in the Grain Handling Facilities standard, 1910.272.

In a recent case, two employees of the same company sustained the same injuries. But the state’s Supreme Court said one could sue, and the other couldn’t.

Here’s what happened: A guy working for a recreational vehicle dealership was given a makeshift pre-fab “office” that was heated by a propane stove. He complained that the fumes from the stove made him sick, but the company ignored his complaints.

Then one day his girlfriend found him unconscious in the office. He was later diagnosed with numerous debilitating neurological impairments and declared permanently disabled.

A short time later, a new employee was hired to do the same job. He, too, complained that the fumes were making him sick. And he, too, was eventually found unconscious — this time by a co-worker. He was also eventually declared permanently disabled.

In fact, he died a short time later (the decision doesn’t say whether his death was related to the exposure).

When the first employee and the family of the second combined forces and sued, the company was able to get both cases dismissed by a district court, successfully invoking exclusive remedy.

But the state’s Supreme Court saw things differently. The district court was right, it said, to toss the first employee’s complaint. But the second employee, it said, might have had a point. Granted, the company hadn’t intentionally harmed him. But given all the circumstances, the company might have been reasonably certain that harm would occur. And that might be enough to overcome exclusive remedy.

Now, the case will be heard by a jury, if it isn’t settled first.

While noting that it was hard to sympathize with the company in this case, one of the high court justices nonetheless vehemently disagreed with the decision to let the employee’s case be heard, saying, “I believe the legislature intended Workers’ Compensation to be the exclusive remedy except … where the defendant’s conduct arose from specific intent rather than willfulness. In other words, an assault would allow a personal injury action. Gross negligence, such as we have here, would not.”

The case, Alexander v. Bozeman Motors, Inc., was decided by the Supreme Court of Montana.

What do you think? Does exclusive remedy unfairly protect even reprehensibly negligent employers, or does the dissenting justice have it right — unless an employer sets out to deliberately harm an employee, workers’ comp should always be the only remedy? Feel free to comment below.

OSHA has filed 23 willful violations against the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association of Aberdeen, SD, for a fatality at its McLaughlin grain handling facility.

Steve Lee died Dec. 22, 2009, when he climbed inside a bin to see why the flow of grain had slowed. Lee was engulfed and smothered.

Co-workers tried to rescue him. OSHA says its investigation determined that five workers were also at risk of being engulfed when they were sent to rescue Lee. That added to the amount of the fines against the company.

An OSHA official says Lee was directed to enter the bin while it was being emptied — a common practice for the company, according to the agency’s investigation.

Earlier last year, another SD Wheat Growers employee died in a forklift incident at a different company facility.

The company is reviewing the citations. It has 15 days to decide whether to contest them.

The citations against the company include violations of confined space and grain handling standards.

Earlier this month, OSHA fined a Mississippi shipbuilder $1.32 million. That case also involved confined space violations. Two workers died in that incident.

What do you think about OSHA’s larger penalties in the last 18 months? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

VT Halter Marine, a shipbuilder, faces $1.32 million in fines in connection with a November 2009 explosion and fire in Escatawpa, MS, that killed two workers and seriously injured two others. The two injured workers both received third-degree burns.

OSHA cited the company for 17 willful violations, including failure to:

• inspect and test a confined space before entry
• prevent entry into confined spaces where the concentration of flammable vapors exceed the prescribed limits, and
• use explosion-proof lighting in a hazardous location.

VT Halter also faces 11 serious violations, including lack of machine guarding and use of defective electrical equipment.

The company has 15 days to decide whether to contest the fines.

The explosion happened aboard a tugboat as a crew was cleaning and prepping a tank for painting.

In April, Charles Sittig was killed at the CES Environmental Services facility in Port Arthur, TX.

Three men have died at CES plants since December 2008.

OSHA cited the company for 34 violations, including a willful citation for failure to establish a rescue team capable of assisting a worker who becomes incapacitated while cleaning out chemicals tanks.

Other citations include raised platforms without railings, poorly maintained ladders and failure to develop decontamination procedures.

The company has 15 days to decide whether to contest the citations.

Two workers died recently at CES’ Houston plant. In December 2008, one worker died in an explosion that sent metal debris into nearby properties. In July 2009, a CES employee died when an explosion and flash fire at the Houston plant knocked him from the top of a mobile tank he was filling with water. OSHA is still investigating that death.

And the rulemaking process is moving along.

OSHA has submitted the proposed regulation to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

That news comes in the wake of the Chemical Safety Board’s recent release of its investigation into the explosion and fire that killed 14 and injured 36 at the Imperial Sugar plant in Wentworth, GA.

In a 25-year period, 281 combustible dust explosions and fires killed 119 workers and injured 718.

A number of OSHA standards address aspects of combustible dust control, including those on housekeeping, emergency action plans, ventilation, spray finishing, permit required confined spaces and electric power generation.

Do you think a separate OSHA standard on combustible dust is necessary? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below, and take our Quick Poll on our home page.

In its final report on the explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said ongoing releases of sugar from poorly designed and maintained dust collection equipment, conveyors, and sugar handling equipment led to the blast.

Inadequate housekeeping allowed highly combustible sugar dust to build up throughout the plant’s packing buildings.

A conveyor had been enclosed, creating a confined, unventilated space where sugar dust could accumulate to an explosive concentration. It’s likely the dust was ignited by an overheated bearing.

The initial explosion caused a cascade of secondary dust explosions in adjacent packing buildings.

On top of these problems, the CSB said Imperial hadn’t conducted evacuation drills for its employees and that the explosions and fires disabled most of the emergency lighting, making it difficult for workers to escape.

A 2006 CSB study identified 281 combustible dust fires and explosions between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers and injured 718, and extensively damaged industrial facilities. In April, OSHA started development of a combustible dust standard. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has recommended practices for preventing dust fires and explosions.

Milk Specialties Co. of Whitehall, WI, faces $1.14 million in OSHA fines in connection with a Dec. 2008 inspection. Inspectors visited the facility in response to a complaint alleging a variety of hazards at Milk Specialties’ whey processing plant.

OSHA issued 17 willful violations, totaling $1.07 million, for confined space and control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) requirements.

The citations say untrained employees entered confined spaces and performed maintenance and cleaning on powered equipment without protection from various hazards.

The company also faces 4 repeat and 17 serious citations that account for the balance of the total fine. Among the other citations:

• combustible dust hazards
• lack of exit route lighting and signage
• uninspected fire extinguishers, and
• deficiencies in guarding floor and wall openings.

Milk Specialties has been inspected by OSHA 15 times since 1974, including 4 inspections in Wisconsin between 2006 and 2008.

The company has 15 days to accept or appeal the citations.

You can read more about OSHA’s citation here.

OSHA wielded its more expensive willful, repeat and serious citations against this company that has a history of safety violations.

But, is a million-dollar citation enough, or should OSHA take further steps against the company such as closing this particular facility until safety improvements are made?

Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.

Police say Cody Rigsby was buried under several feet of grain inside a bin at the Tempel Grain elevator.

On the day of the incident, local emergency officials were notified at 1:30 p.m. that a worker was missing and believed trapped in the bin, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.

Four fire departments and community volunteers worked until 7 p.m. the same day to recover Rigsby’s body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It’s not known what safety equipment was being used at the time of the incident.

Workers should be trained to assume that the potential for entrapment in a bin with stored loose materials (grain, sand, gravel, coal) is always present, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Other safety steps:

• Workers shouldn’t be allowed to enter a storage area from the bottom when material is adhering to the sides or is bridged overhead.
• When workers must enter storage areas, they should stay above the material at all times and never stand or walk on top of it.
• Any time a worker enters a storage area, the supply and discharge of materials must be stopped and locked out.
• Workers entering storage areas should wear safety belts or harnesses with properly fastened life lines.

A worker at a soup factory in Germany died after getting trapped inside a giant cauldron and cooking to death, according to the newspaper, Bild.

The man had climbed into the cauldron at the Eraso soup factory to clean it.

The cauldron’s lid suddenly closed while the man was still inside. It started to fill with steam as part of the disinfection process.

A doctor confirmed the man had been cooked to death.

Police and workplace safety officials are investigating.

Prosecutors also have the ability to press criminal charges against the company in addition to OSHA’s penalty.

Crossroad Cooperative Association of Nebraska pleaded guilty to a criminal violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the 2007 grain bin suffocation of an employee. It will pay a $100,000 fine and be on probation for two years as a result.

In 2007, 18-year-old Joseph Teague died after a foreman told him to go into a grain bin with an auger conveyor belt running, according to the Journal Star. OSHA requires such machinery to be shut off if someone enters a bin. Teague was buried in five to seven feet of grain. His body wasn’t found for 30 minutes.

As part of the plea, Crossroads is required to allow OSHA inspectors to have unrestricted access to its plant.

The company settled a civil case against it for $50,000. Teague’s family collected money through the company’s workers’ comp insurance.

Nebraska’s U.S. Attorney, Joe Stecher, said his office will be aggressive in prosecuting companies that don’t provide a safe environment for workers.

An unidentified employee of Precision Industrial Maintenance in Schenectady, NY, was overcome by toxic fumes in a tank truck at the company’s headquarters. A second employee tried to help the first man but was also overcome, according to the Daily Gazette.

Firefighters pulled the two unconscious men from the tank. The first man died. The second survived, but spent time in a hospital intensive care unit.

So the message has to be sent to workers: If you don’t have the proper protective equipment to enter a confined space that may contain toxic fumes, don’t go in, even if you find a co-worker collapsed inside. You may become a victim yourself in the process of trying to save someone else.

In this case, OSHA has now fined Precision $56,000 for various violations, including one willful citation, with a $35,000 proposed fine, for not providing employees with confined space rescue training at least once every 12 months.

Five serious citations were issued for Precision’s failure to:

• test conditions in confined spaces before entry
• complete required entry permits
• provide confined space training to employees
• evaluate rescue services for employees entering confined spaces, and
• provide confined space warnings signs.

OSHA’s statement about its fines against Precision is available here.