Farm work is hazardous business. Recently, we focused on the deaths of two Michigan teen farmworkers who were killed while working in a silo. Last week, we learned about the recent deaths of two more young workers who died in an Illinois grain bin which is owned by Haasbach, LLC. Wyatt Whitebread was 14 years old and Alex Pacas was 19 years old. Officials put the cause of death at “traumatic asphyxiation, due to being engulfed in corn.”
According to reports, the boys were standing in corn as an unloading system operated. Wyatt began sinking in the corn and became trapped. As is so often the case in such incidents, coworkers rush to rescue their trapped coworker. Alex Pacas and Will Piper, 20, tried to help Whitebread but they also became trapped. Pacas’ efforts resulted in his death; Piper was rescued and hospitalized. Reports indicate that one or two other teens were also in the bin but managed to escape and call for help.
Preliminary OSHA investigations indicate that these deaths were preventable. The three workers were not wearing safety harnesses and were not equipped with life lines. In addition, reports say there was not a spotter in place who could shut down the system if there was a problem. Also, it is illegal for teens under age 16 to work in grain storage bins.
Liz Borowski of The Pump Handle reports that OSHA is taking action in light of recent grain bin deaths. It has proposed or levied fines against two other grain facilities for recent entrapments and deaths. In addition, OSHA issued letters to all grain elevator operators reminding them of their safety obligations. The OSHA letter states that employers have legal obligation to protect and train workers, and warns that they will aggressively pursue cases “use our enforcement authority to the fullest extent possible” when employers fail to fulfill their legal obligations.
According to OSHA, employer safety precautions include:
When workers enter storage bins, employers must (among other things):
1. Turn off and lock out all powered equipment associated with the bin, including augers used to help move the grain, so that the grain is not being emptied or moving out or into the bin. Standing on moving grain is deadly; the grain acts like ‘quicksand’ and can bury a worker in seconds. Moving grain out of a bin while a worker is in the bin creates a suction that can pull the workers into the grain in seconds.
2. Prohibit walking down grain and similar practices where an employee walks on grain to make it flow.
3. Provide all employees a body harness with a lifeline, or a boatswains chair, and ensure that it is secured prior to the employee entering the bin.
4. Provide an observer stationed outside the bin or silo being entered by an employee. Ensure the observer is equipped to provide assistance and that their only task is to continuously track the employee in the bin
5. Prohibit workers from entry into bins or silos underneath a bridging condition, or where a build-up of grain products on the sides could fall and bury them.
6. Test the air within a bin or silo prior to entry for the presence of combustible and toxic gases, and to determine if there is sufficient oxygen.
7. Ensure a permit is issued for each instance a worker enters a bin or silo, certifying that the precautions listed above have been implemented.
Posts Tagged ‘confined space’
After 2 teen deaths, OSHA puts grain handling facilities on notice
Monday, August 16th, 2010Two farmworking teens killed in silo; media is mystified
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010From Michigan, we learn the tragic news of the silo-related deaths of two teens on a farm. Victor Perez, 18, was a recent high school graduate who had worked on the farm for about 4 years. His co-worker Francisco Mendez Martinez, 17, had been on the job for about a month.
News reports are thin and shrouded in mystery. One refers to the fatalities as a “mishap” (talk about understatement) and quotes a local farmworker as saying that the teens “weren’t doing something particularly dangerous and they knew how to do it.” (Apparently wrong on both counts). Other stories portray this as “just a tragic accident” with authorities quoted as saying they might never be sure what happened because there were no witnesses.
We should really expect better reporting from media whose beat includes farm country. And if the news reports are correct, there is at least one other local farm worker who needs to be alerted to silo dangers and the quoted sheriff needs to take an EMT refresher course.
A cursory Google search on silo deaths will show that there’s nothing particularly mysterious about this “mishap” – unsupervised teen workers + confined space + silos + molasses storage – all should trigger red lights. The danger posed to teens of confined spaces in agriculture should be well known. Instead of breathless reporting about mysterious tragedies (see also “freak accidents“), media could do a huge service to local communities if they did a little research and used such horrific events as a springboard to educate people about a) safety for a high-risk group, teen workers and b) farm worker accident prevention.
The hazards associated with silos are well-recognized. One cited in this link might have been a description of the recent that killed the teens:
The typical scenario involves a worker entering an oxygen-deficient or toxic atmosphere and collapsing. Co-workers notice the collapsed worker and enter the same atmosphere and attempt a rescue; however, if they do not use proper precautions (respirators, ventilator fans, etc.), they also collapse.
Additional resources
Confined Space Hazards a Threat to Farmers
Dangerous Gases and Fires Can Make Silos Death Traps
Silo Gas Dangers
Silo Gas Dangers – from Farm Safety
Preventing Deaths of Farm Workers in Manure Pits
Confined Space Hazards
OSHA: Confined Space
Parental Alert: 2010’s Five Worst Teen Jobs
Sewer Dweller
Monday, June 21st, 2010A sewer may not be the preferred place to begin the work week, but the working world calls and we must follow. About a year ago, we blogged the sad story of Shlomo and Harel Dahan, respectively the owner and heir of S. Dahan Piping and Heating company in Queens, New York. They were hired to vacuum an 18-foot-deep dry well at a plant owned by Regal Recycling. Harel went in first. When he failed to emerge, his father went in after him. When the father failed to surface, an employee of Regal, Rene Rivas, went in after them. All three were overcome by deadly fumes at the bottom of the well. All three died.
Now we read in the New York Times that Sarah Dahan, Shlomo’s widow and mother of Harel, brought the remains of her husband and son to Israel for burial. She left the company in the hands of Ygal Lalush, a trusted employee. In her absence, Lalush changed the locks, stole the company’s four trucks, wrote $30,000 in company checks for his personal benefit and started running the company out of his own home under a different corporate name.
Ms. Dahan discovered the problem when she returned from Israel. She first tried to resolve the issue directly with Lalush. When that failed, she went to the authorities. Lalush has been charged with fraud, grand larceny, forgery, possession of stolen property and falsifying business records.
Lessons from the Underground
We could conjecture about the frailty of human nature and the dark shadows that accompany us all as we make our way through the world. We could wonder at the transformation of a loyal employee into a pathetic crook. (Perhaps his lawyer will chalk it up to post-traumatic stress syndrome!) That aspect of this tale will remain forever hidden, like the contents of the sewers cleaned by S. Dahan Piping and Heating.
The take-away from this tale lies within the Dahan family: the father who tried in vain to save his son. The mother who fulfilled a commitment by burying her husband and son in Israel and who tried unsuccessfully to convince her wayward employee to abandon his demented plan. There is genuine dignity in these people, who deserved both a better fate and a higher class of employee.
Putrescible Waste
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009There are certain aspects of civilized life that few of us want to experience directly. Once our garbage has disappeared from the curbside, we are unlikely to give it any further thought. We have little curiousity about the desolate environments where this garbage is taken. But some folks work in these places, such as the ironically-named Regal Recycling Company on Douglas Ave, Jamaica, Queens. New York Times writer Robert McFadden describes the location as “an ugly street of waste plants, garbage scows and sheds enclosed by chain-link and topped by fluttering American flags.”
A manhole-size, 18 foot deep well at Regal was the sight of a terrible accident earlier this week. S. Dahan Piping and Heating Corporation was hired to clean the manhole. They apparently were not alerted to the hazard of poisonous gases in the well. First, Harel Dahan, son of the owner, climbed into the well’s three foot diameter opening and disappeared. His father – we can only imagine his desperate concern for his son – followed him down and did not return. Finally, a Regal employee named Rene Rivas entered the well to help out.
All three workers were quickly killed by the high level of hydrogen sulfide in the confined air of the well. Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic and flammable gas. Being heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until it is too late. Exposure to 50 parts per million can be lethal within 10 minutes. The level in the well measured an astounding 200 parts per million.
A Firefighter from the rescue squad named Robert Lagnese recovered the bodies. He wore protective clothing and an enclosed breathing apparatus.
Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of decomposing organic matter. (Here is a five page MSDS sheet for anyone interested.) At this point, no one is sure how the gas accumulated in the well. When trucks enter the facility, they empty their contents into two categories of waste: “putrescible” and “non-putrescible.” It is the former that generates the poisonous gas.
When Shlomo Dahan arrived at Regal, he expected to find a routine job of pumping out a well. He was not aware of any immanent danger. It’s clear that Regal employee Rene Rivas was also unaware of – and untrained in – the danger. Regal handles tons of “putrescible” waste, but apparently had no awareness of the accompanying dangers.
We are left with a chain of doomed, heroic actions: Harel Dahan’s collapse in the well, followed by the rescue attempts of his father and of Rivas. It should never have happened. But let’s face it. We all want the debris of our civilized lives to be removed from our sight as quickly as possible. No one wants to look at – or smell – garbage. What happens to it after it’s removed is someone else’s business.
Health Wonk Review, medical costs, price hikes, joint & several liability, and more
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Health Wonk Review — The “Just the Facts, Ma’am” Edition – hosted by Vince Kuraitis at e-CareManagement – Dragnet fans take note!
NCCI report on medical benefits – The medical share of total losses has grown dramatically — from just over 40% in the early 1980s to almost 60% today. NCCI takes a closer look: Analyzing the Shift in the Medical Share of Total Benefits (PDF)
Price hikes forecasted – economists at Swiss Re are predicting a deep recession and price hardening across all lines of insurance through 2010, insurance and reinsurance inclusive.
Walmart death – This topic has been making waves in the law blogs. Troy Rosasco talks about the likelihood that exclusive remedy will preempt any lawsuits in the case of the trampling death of a Walmart employee in a post-Thanksgiving sale stampede, and talks about how the retailer could face criminal investigations. Of course, that doesn’t mean that lawsuits haven’t been filed – Eric Turkewitz updates us on the family bringing suit; Walter Olson offers his perspective on “5 minute after” suits. My colleague Jon had blogged about this last week: Walmart’s Killer Bargains.
Can you say Joint & Several liability? – a recent study profiled in Risk and Insurance shows that small business owners are not fully aware of the financial risks involved in obtaining workers’ compensation insurance through self-insured groups. Despite several high-profile failures, “…85 percent of respondents indicated that they had not seen, read or heard about the closure of several self-insured groups over the past year. More than one-half (58 percent) of respondents reported that they were unaware that companies belonging to self-insured groups remain financially responsible — often for years — for the claims of all companies in their group, not just their own businesses.” See: joint & several liability.
Fumes and confined space – We noted a sad story last month about two amateur winemakers in France who died after being overcome by fumes while trampling grapes. While this might sound like unusual circumstances, the issue of confined space and the danger of fumes is a significant agricultural risk. Hydrogen dioxide-related deaths (PDF) also occur in manure pits – there have been several instances when rescuers enter the pit only to succumb to the fumes as well.