The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Oct. 14 issued a national press release "reminding" employers of existing standards governing entry into confined spaces, following "a recent increase in the number of workers killed" by grain engulfment incidents, such as those involving loading, emptying and cleaning of grain storage bins.
The agency noted that its grain-handling facilities standard requires that employers provide employees entering bins, tanks or other confined spaces with appropriate personal protective equipment.
OSHA said that suffocations and falls represent the leading causes of death at grain-handling facilities. "These deaths could have been prevented if proper safety measures were used," Acting OSHA Administrator Jordan Barab said in the agency's press release. "Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces, and ensuring that workers are not exposed to risks that could result in injury or death." The agency further advised that "not allowing workers to walk or stand in products piled higher than waist high reduces the risk of workers sinking and suffocating," even though the latter is not a requirement under the existing grain-handling standard.
The grain-handling standard requires the following actions be taken before an employee enters a bin, silo or tank (flat storage structures are exempt, as are tanks where the diameter exceeds the height, unless entry is made from the top of the structure): 1) Employers are to issue a permit certifying that bin-entry procedures have been taken, unless the employer or his/her representative is present during the entire entry operation; 2) all mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic equipment that "presents a danger to employees inside bins, silos or tanks" is to be "disconnected, locked-out and tagged; blocked off; or prevented from operating by some other means or methods;" 3) atmospheric testing of the bin, silo or tanks being entered if the employer has "reason to believe" combustible gases, vapors or toxic agents may be present (if testing detects a hazardous environment, the standard requires that the space be ventilated until the unsafe condition is eliminated or, if the condition cannot be corrected with ventilation, that employees be provided with respirators); 4) employers are to provide employers entering a bin, silo or tank with a body harness with lifeline or a boatswain's chair meeting OSHA requirements, as well as rescue equipment specifically suited for the structure being entered; 5) an observer is to be stationed outside the bin, silo or tank throughout the entry operation, and be equipped and trained in rescue procedures, including how to call for assistance if an emergency develops; and 6) employers are to provide training on specific procedures and safety practices associated with entering such structures.
OSHA's standard also prohibits employees from entering bins, silos or tanks below bridged grain or where a grain buildup on sidewalls could become dislodged and bury them.
Engulfment is among the issues covered in the NGFA/GEAPS safety DVD scheduled to be released in early December. Watch the NGFA Newsletter for ordering information.