WESTFIELD, ILLINOIS, US — An Illinois grain company received citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for two incidents that occurred in a six-month time period earlier this year.

Littlejohn Grain Inc. received 21 citations for a February incident in which a worker was entrapped in a grain bin for five hours. The company notified OSHA that another employee suffered severe leg injuries on July 12 that required a partial leg amputation.

For that incident, Littlejohn Grain received two willful violations and one serious violation and faces $115,855 in proposed penalties.

OSHA investigators determined Littlejohn Grain Inc. again violated federal safety regulations by not de-energizing and locking out an auger before allowing the worker to enter the bin. Inspectors also learned the company did not test the bin for oxygen content and exposed the worker to a fall hazard above dangerous equipment.

“Twice in less than six months, employees were endangered, one of whom suffered injuries with lifelong consequences,” said Edward Marshall, OSHA area director in Peoria, Illinois, US. “The grain elevator’s operator could have protected its employees by following federal and industry-recommended safety procedures.”

The grain elevator’s operator is contesting the 21 violations cited after the February entrapment incident.

Operating since 1923, the Martinsville, Illinois, US-based company serves Illinois grain producers in Clark, Edgar and Cumberland counties with facilities in Westfield and Martinsville and a grain elevator in West Union.

In 2018, OSHA established a regional emphasis program for grain-handling facilities in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin after investigating more than two dozen related fatalities in the prior decade. In addition to its enforcement efforts, the agency has worked closely with the industry to raise awareness of grain-handling hazards. This work includes OSHA partnerships with the Grain Handling Safety Coalition, Grain Elevator and Processing Society and the National Grain and Feed Association.

An OSHA alliance with the grain-handling industry has identified seven steps for grain safety:    

  • Turn off and lockout equipment before entering a bin or performing maintenance.
  • Never walk down grain to make it flow.
  • Test the air in the bin before entering.
  • Use a safety harness and anchored lifeline.
  • Place a trained observer outside of the bin in case of an emergency.
  • Do not enter a bin where grain is built up on the side.
  • Control the accumulation of grain dust through housekeeping.
Littlejohn Grain Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.