In February 2016 an explosion occurred in a Georgia chicken feed mill, killing a 25 year old worker and injuring 5 others severely enough to send them to the hospital. The explosion caused such damage to the building that the feed mill had to be closed. OSHA inspectors have been investigating the cause and events of the fatal dust explosion, and have released their findings along with a fine for the company.
The OSHA investigation found that the company had violated safety standards that could have prevented the fatal dust explosion and the worker’s death, and fined the company $112,600 for the 23 safety and health violations that were discovered. OSHA’s area director had this to say about the findings, “It is tragic that despite wide industry awareness of these hazards, that some employers remain unaware of the common hazards of combustible dust. This incident and this man’s death were preventable.”
The inspection found that excessive amounts of grain dust had been allowed to accumulate in the hammer mill area, leading to the presence of a combustible dust cloud that exploded on contact with an ignition source. The company also failed to post signs warning of the potential hazard and did not implement an emergency action plan to prepare for such an explosion.
