OSHA cites Illinois grain cooperative for safety failures

A central Illinois grain-handling cooperative is facing $303,510 in fines after soybeans collapsed inside a bin and engulfed an employee up to the waist, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday.

OSHA investigated Topflight Grain Cooperative Inc. following a Feb. 19 incident in which two workers were engulfed while clearing a bin in Monticello, Illinois, of crops and debris. Although the incident was not fatal, the agency said 60% of such grain engulfments result in the death of a worker.

The company, which could not immediately be reached for comment, faces three willful, one serious, and one other-than-serious safety citations for violating grain-handling safety standards, among other concerns.