OSHA Records Detail Safety Lapses Before Factory Explosion
- Federal records obtained by Investigate Midwest show OSHA found poor safety training at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur, Illinois soybean processing plant before a September 2023 explosion that severely injured eight people.
- OSHA found ADM gave incorrect written guidance on a sliding gate meant to seal a tunnel between buildings, a longtime supervisor ran the shutdown that preceded the blast from “memory” instead of written procedures, and a newly hired supervisor didn’t know about key safety equipment. A flap valve that was supposed to stop hexane gas from escaping regularly stuck open and was cleaned only once a year.
- A sensor alarm near the extraction tank detected hexane at 6:18 p.m., about an hour before the explosion, and workers smelled the gas, but no evacuation order appears to have been given in time, according to the records.
- OSHA cited ADM for four process safety management violations and fined it $50,000. ADM contested it, two violations were dropped and the fine was reduced to about $25,000. OSHA required ADM to install alarms in the building and to have all plant employees attend two safety training sessions.
Two Utility Workers Injured by Vehicle While Working in Ditch
- Two workers installing underground utilities were struck by a pickup truck in a work zone in Stephens County Georgia, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
- Troopers said the southbound Ford F-150 failed to maintain its lane while cresting a hill, left the road and hit a commercial air compressor, pushing it into a trencher in a ditch. The truck then rotated and struck the two workers in the ditch.
- A 38-year-old worker from Montgomery, Texas, was flown to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with serious injuries. A 33-year-old worker from Houston complained of injuries but wasn’t taken for treatment.
- The driver was charged with DUI, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane and driving while unlicensed. The State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating.
Worker Electrocuted While Hanging Christmas Lights
- A worker was critically injured when he was electrocuted while hanging Christmas lights around Oct. 28 near Carmel Country Club in south Charlotte, North Carolina.
- Charlotte firefighters said the worker was moving an extension ladder when electricity arced from a nearby power line.
- A bystander started CPR, and firefighters used an AED to restart the worker’s heart. A second worker suffered burns to his hands.