Federal investigators in the US found life-threatening hazards at a Nebraska grain cooperative, where workers faced risks of fire and explosions due to the company allowing a build-up of combustible dust and failing to maintain effective dust collection systems, leading to more than $500,000 (£410,000) in proposed penalties.
Investigators with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to a complaint of unsafe working conditions at Legacy Cooperative’s Hemingford grain elevator and opened its inspection in March 2024, under the agency’s regional emphasis program for grain-handling facilities in Nebraska.
Specifically, OSHA found the company permitted more than one-eighth inch of grain dust to accumulate in priority housekeeping areas, such as in the bottom belt tunnel and around the elevator legs. The agency also found duct tape wrapped around the dust collection system, located in the bottom belt tunnel, in a makeshift attempt to repair the dust collection system. This reduced the system’s efficiency and increased its vulnerability to failure. If left unchecked, grain dust can ignite in seconds and cause deadly fires and explosions.
“Grain dust fires and explosions are a well-known industry hazard, which makes Legacy Grain Cooperative’s failure to control dust where a belt’s friction could easily cause ignition inexcusable,” said OSHA Area Director Matthew Thurlby in Omaha, Nebraska. “Employers must develop company-wide safety procedures to mitigate known grain handling dangers and ensure workers are trained to recognize hazards.”
OSHA cited Legacy Cooperative for two wilful and 22 serious safety and health violations and proposed penalties totalling $536,965.
