US feed mill faces fine for safety violations

The safety report noted several fall hazards, explosion hazards from dust build up and areas with lacking guarding devices at the Midwest Farmers Coop site in Martell, Nebraska. The facility works with animal feed.

The February 11 citation​ was based on an inspection from November and noted violations to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, OSHA officials said in their report.

The company has already addressed the issues raised in the report, said Dale Piper, general manager. “We made sure those were taken care of,”​ he told FeedNavigator.

Report details​

The report noted several serious areas of concern and some ongoing issues, said OSHA officials.

"Allowing excessive levels of dust to accumulate and failing to ensure elevated work areas and equipment are properly guarded to protect workers from falls is unacceptable," ​said Jeff Funke, OSHA's area director in Omaha. "Complying with OSHA standards protect workers from injury and death on the job."​

The serious issues included that ladder way floor openings or platforms did not have the necessary railing and toe boards and lacked the correct gate or offset for entrances, they said. And stairways did not have standard railings.

The facility also lacked a written housekeeping program to address grain dust on floors, equipment and other areas, said officials. “The employer did not immediately remove any fugitive grain dust accumulations whenever the exceeded one eighth of an inch at priority housekeeping areas, pursuant to the housekeeping program for feed mills,”​ they added.

Reportedly, dust on the steps and in the mixer leg boot pit was more than 3 inches thick and inch-thick dust was found on some ledges and around the bottom of the feed mill mixer, they said. Dust can be an explosion hazard.

Additionally, some repeat violations were noted at the feed mill, having been seen previously at other mills operated by Midwest Farmers Cooperative, said officials. These included that all pit and trapdoors did not have standard opening covers.

“The boot pit to the east side leg is approximately 10 feet deep on three sides without guard railing to protect employees from the fall hazards,”​ they said. “The trench from the east leg boot pit to the receiving pit has an area that is 37 inches wide by 76 inches long by 70 inches deep left uncovered and without guard railing to protect employees from the fall hazards.”​

Other violations included that some pulleys and vertical or inclined belts were not enclosed or sufficiently guarded, they said.

What’s next?​

The feed mill was given a set amount of time address the concerns and pay the fines listed in the report, said OSHA officials. It also has a 15 day time window to submit a notice of contest about the claims.

Additionally, the mill was given 15 days to schedule an informal meeting with OSHA officials to discuss the violations, they said.

Although issues have been remedied, the feed mill is still planning to have a conference with OSHA, said Piper. “We place great emphasis on safety and have a director in charge of that [within] our company,”​ he added.