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OSHA Issues Violations, Fines After Ohio Grain Elevator Death

Accident occurred in April at Hansen-Mueller facility in Toledo

PIXABAY
PIXABAY

The Hansen-Mueller grain processing facility in Toledo, OH, was issued two serious federal safety violations and fines totaling almost $29,000 after an employee was killed in April after become entangled in a conveyor system, U.S. Department of Labor records show.

Shaun Baker, 42, died April 14 while loading grain into a railcar through an elevated conveyor at the facility.

Hansen-Mueller has until late next week to contest the citations and related fines, which were issued June 7 by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Citations issued

One citation said the conveyor safety system meant to stop a worker from falling did not have adequate protection to prevent its parts from getting damaged. OSHA issued a proposed penalty of $14,357.

According to a police report obtained by the Toledo Blade, Baker's safety equipment had become entangled in the conveyor system.

An autopsy said he had become "entrapped in motor of grain loader." Authorities found his body suspended at the end of the conveyor, several feet above a railcar.

The second OSHA citation issued after the accident said that cords powering the facility's rail loading station were set up in such a way that employees would be potentially "exposed to electrical shock/electrocution." OSHA also proposed a fine of $14,357 for that violation.

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